Ashes
by Jasper98
Summary: A young woman finds herself caught between the world she was raised in and the world she belongs in. Abandoned by her Fire Nation mother, Anahi is raised by the Water Tribe, until one day abilities of her own begin to surface, threatening the whole life Anahi has known.
1. Introduction

Disgraced by her family for a bastard pregnancy she did not intend, a young Fire Nation mother flees to the outskirts of the Water Tribe, seeking refuge with a young fisherman and his wife. The woman has her child in secret, but insists that the couple adopt the baby as their own. Reluctantly, the couple agrees, and the Fire Nation woman disappears, never to be seen again.

The baby, named Anahi by her adoptive parents, is raised under the protection of the Water Tribe. But as the child grows older, she realizes that she is not like her peers, and carries a hidden talent that could mean destroying everything that she knows.


	2. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone ~ So I've come back after a year or so, and this is the story! I've been rewatching ATLA and have just fallen in love with the story all over again. So please enjoy, and forgive any errors! Thank you!**

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"Anahi, we're going to be late!"

"I'll be there!" I groaned angrily, turning over underneath the mass of blankets and animal skins I had burrowed under. The winter season was the worst of all, and I constantly had the feeling that I could never shake the cold. I sighed, knowing my father would never let me hear the end of it if we were late, and dragged myself out of bed and hurriedly dressed in my warmest clothes.

"There you are," My brother was standing outside. "We have to get to the docks or Dad will leave without us."

Grudgingly, I followed him, shivering in the icy cold as we walked through the streets. This weather never seemed to bother Naheel, nor anyone else in our village, for that matter.

We reached the docks, and I already felt my stomach pang with the hunger from missing breakfast. Naheel hurried over to our father's boat and jumped inside, I quickly following him. "There you are," My father looked up from untangling a net. He set it down and stood up to greet us. "Come on. We have to go check the nets before noon."

Naheel and I helped our father get the boat out of the dock, and the familiar routine began again. Arise early, get to the docks, help father with the day's fishing, and bring the haul to market the following day to sell. It's what I had grown up doing, and although it was repetitive, there was a comforting peace in the work. There were no surprises, no changes. It was peace, out on the ocean water, with only my brother and father.

Between pulling up nets and returning the daily catch to harbor, Naheel would practice waterbending, rocking the boat with gentle waves, or playing with a small puddle of seawater that had been splashed aboard, turning it over in his hands and making it float above his head before it disintegrated. Naheel _could_ waterbend, but he needed a teacher. Our parents always spoke of taking him to the North Pole, but with every year, that proved to be an empty promise. I wished I was gifted like he was, and when I was alone, I'd try to emulate his movements, practicing waterbending to fruitless results.

Even though Naheel was younger than me by two years, I wished that I could be more like him sometimes. Naheel was the most level-headed person I knew, and rarely got angry about anything. Even when I would find some problem or complaint with him, Naheel never grew angry back. Sometimes it was frustrating, Naheel's constant sense of calm, and with my fiery temper, we were polar opposites.

"Hey, Anahi!" I looked up from gazing wearily out of the boat over to my brother, who had a seam of water and was making it flex and dance around in a wobbly circle. "Look at this!"

"It's great," I muttered, looking out over the helm of the ship and watching as we drew nearer and nearer to the docks. It was now late afternoon, and after spending the whole day out at sea, I was tired. I heard a splash of water on deck, and Naheel stood up, walking over to me and standing beside me. As we reached the dock, we worked in tandem, taking rope and fastening them to the sides of the boat to secure it.

"When I've mastered waterbending, I'll use it to make this whole process much easier," Naheel grunted as he jumped onto the dock, pulling a large section of the net with fish inside. My father did the same with his own section of the net, and I stood behind it, lifting and pushing the load of fish carefully so it would go over the side of the boat and onto the dock.

"If we can find you a good teacher, that is," My father added, pulling hard on the net. "There's no one around here, but if we can take you to the North Pole, I'm sure that there would be someone."

"There has to be!" Naheel added cheerfully, and with a final heave, got the rest of the net onto the dock. "The North Pole is huge!"

"Maybe next year we shall go and see," My father sighed, as I jumped out of the boat and helped them carry the large net brimming with fish down the dock, careful not to let it drag. A good thing, I supposed, about having terribly cold winters was that it took much longer for the fish to go bad.

"Wouldn't that be great, Anahi?" Naheel grinned, as we deposited the load of fish onto the back of a cart. He got in front of it and began to push. I jumped on the back, avoiding the fish, and grinned as he grunted with the added weight.

"_So_ great," I grinned, as he began to pull the both of us to the market to meet our mother. Our father had stayed behind with the boat. "You'll be everyone's hero. Our village's own professional water bender!"

Naheel chuckled and rolled his eyes, still walking slowly and steadily ahead. "I'm sensing your sarcasm, Anahi," He remarked.

"O Wise One, teach me your ways!" I cried, rolling my eyes. I couldn't hide the edge of ice to my tone. Naheel's smile slightly fell, and I sighed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get annoyed."

"It's nothing," He replied, stopping before our family's stand. Our mother was waiting, and I jumped off of the cart to help her unload the fish.

"Naheel," I said, dropping my voice so that my mother wouldn't hear. "After this...would you - would you mind showing me some moves?"

"You want to try?" My brother's face lit up excitedly, and then he quickly composed himself. "I mean, of course. We can go just outside the village to practice. We won't be disturbed there."

I gave a small smile, and turned back to helping Mom. Truthfully, this wasn't the first time I had asked Naheel to try and teach me to waterbend. I was just ashamed of being the child without the special skill, the average, normal one, even though there were hundreds like me out there.

After supper, Naheel caught my eye as we finished eating, and we hurriedly excused ourselves and left our house. I walked with excited steps, following my brother quickly down the quiet streets. My heartbeat quickened, and although I knew what we were doing wasn't illegal, I still had the strange feeling that it was wrong.

Naheel and I stopped by the water's edge. We were just out of sight of the village, and backed by a large hill covered by snow and ice. It provided enough protection to barely be seen, and I knew that was why Naheel had picked this spot.

"Okay," He stood close to the water's edge, one foot in front of the other in a firm stance. I copied him exactly. "Just go slowly. Watch my hands. I'm just pulling and pushing the water."

I watched him rock back and forth, shifting his weight between each foot. He rolled his wrists to the rhythm of his motion, and surely enough, the water lolled gently back and forth, against the tide of the waves.

"You try it," Naheel smiled at me, and I envied how easy he made it look. I readjusted my stance, and tried pushing against the water, moving my hands, but to no effect. "Move your wrists back as you lean back," He tried, and I awkwardly tried to copy him. Already, I was frustrated, and exhaled loudly through my teeth.

"Breathe out as you lean forward," Naheel swayed forward, creating a much larger wave that he pushed back into the sea. I pushed angrily out towards the water, getting nothing again. "Soften the motions of your hands, don't push so hard."

"I'm not pushing..." I muttered, trying to relax my body like he was. Still, the water did nothing, and even Naheel's own waves had stopped as he was watching me.

"Move!" I cried, shouting at the sea. I charged towards it, getting wet up to my boots, and splashed angrily at the water, dragging my arms through it. "Agh!"

"Anahi, you're going to freeze!" He cried, coming in after me and grabbing me around the chest with both arms.

"Stop it!" I cried, turning around and pushing him off.

"I'm just trying to help you!" Naheel exclaimed, following me out of the shallow water.

"You can't!" I exclaimed, feeling tears rising and a knot forming in my throat. I was already humiliated, and I didn't need to be crying now on top of it. "You're the _special_ one, I'm not!" I flung my hands, angry and upset. "You're the _waterbender_, I'm just average! I'm nobody!"

"Anahi," Naheel's voice softened. "You aren't average..."

"That's easy for you to say," I muttered, turning my back to him. "You're the one with the future. I'm the one who's going to be stuck in this tiny town for the rest of my life."

"We should go home," Naheel said quietly.

"You go," I said bitterly. "I want to be left alone."

"I think talking to Mom and Dad might really help - " He reached out, touching my arm, and I shook him off.

"Naheel!" I cried...as a stream of fire came from my hands, scorching the ground where my brother was standing only moments before.

My mouth fell open in complete shock, and my eyes widened, staring at the flame that still burned around my hand. I could feel the heat, but there was no searing pain, no burning of flesh. I stared at the fire in my hands, and slowly looked up at Naheel, my eyes wide in fear.

My brother backed up slowly, watching the flame with a face of pure terror. "Anahi," He breathed, and when opened my fist, the fire disappeared. "What...what have you done?"

"I'm sorry," I breathed, feeling the blood drain from my face. "I'm sorry, I don't know...I don't know how I _did_ that - "

"Anahi," Naheel shook his head in disbelief. "You're a _firebender_."


	3. Chapter 2

My heart was pounding in my chest, and I glanced around Naheel and I, checking to see if anyone had seen what I had done. I was a monster. I was one of _them_.

"What's wrong with me?" I breathed, staring at my brother in fear. "What do I do? I didn't mean to do it! It just happened!"

"Is this the first time this has happened?" Naheel asked, his voice rising. He stayed his distance away.

"Yes," I breathed. "I swear, I am not one of...of them. I don't know how this happened - "

"I believe you," My brother sighed, his voice still slightly shaking. "We need to tell Mom and Dad about this though. They can help you."

"But what if they report me!" I cried, tears of fear beginning to well up in my eyes. "Waterbending is fine, but firebending...that's treasonous! Oh, Naheel..."

"It's going to be okay," He extended his hand, reaching out for me. "You haven't committed treason. Come on, Anahi. We shouldn't be out here any longer."

Gingerly, I nodded, and we hurried back home, trying not to run. My whole body was shaking, and when my brother and I burst through the doors, I felt ready to be sick.

"Naheel, Anahi, what's wrong?" My mother stood immediately upon seeing us enter. "Anahi, why are you soaking wet?"

Without a word, I ran into my mother's arms, wrapping my arms around her neck and burying my face into her shoulder. I had never been more afraid in my life. "Mom," I murmured, pulling away, as my father approached me with a warm blanket and led my brother and I over to the fire. I shivered, but not from the cold.

"Anahi, what happened?" My mother looked from me to Naheel.

"What I'm going to tell you," I murmured, looking intently at my parents. "_Please_, don't get angry. Naheel and I were at the water's edge, just outside the village. He was trying to show me how to waterbend."

"Did you?" My father asked. "Is that why you're soaking wet?"

"No," I bowed my head. "I - I did something else. Something worse." I felt the tears coming again, but I didn't wipe them away.

"Mom, Dad," I murmured, my voice shaking. "Why can I _firebend_? How is that even possible?"

I looked up to see them exchange a glance, and my mother's face grow pale. "Anahi..." She murmured. "Don't be afraid. Your father and I are not surprised by what happened. We're just glad it was only the two of you."

I looked up and dried my eyes. "What do you mean?" My father gave a weary sigh, and covered his mouth with his hand.

"Before we tell you this, know that your mother and I love you very much," He said gently. "We are your family, and we will _always_, be your family."

"What are you saying?" I breathed.

"A long time ago," My mother began, her voice calm and level. "When your father and I were newly married, a young woman came to us. She was very pregnant, and all alone, seeking refuge. Your father and I took her in, and she ended up having her baby with us. Her name was Kita, and she told us that her family had forced her into exile for having a baby out of wedlock. She was desperate, and after the baby was born, she begged us to keep her. She couldn't support the baby, and she was already very weak. Your father and I agreed, and Anahi...that baby was you."

"And you were such a blessing," My father added. "You were such a good child, and we have been so happy to be your parents - "

"Kita," I repeated numbly, my real mother's name strange on my lips. "What happened to her?"

"She had to leave," My mother said sadly. "Anahi, there was no way she could have taken care of you on her own. She was still very weak and sick. She begged us to take you in as our own. She said there was no hope for her in the Fire Nation anymore. So we took you in as our daughter."

I stared hard at my lap, unable to process this. My whole life was a lie. I was of the _Fire Nation. _"Do you know where she went?" I breathed.

"No," My father replied soberly. "Anahi, I'm sorry. I know this must be very hard."

"Who is my real father?" I asked. "Is he Fire Nation too?"

My parents exchanged a hard look, and my father swallowed sharply. "This is going to sound impossible to believe," He murmured, and looked over at my mother. "Sukah, will you go and get it?"

"What's _it_?" I asked, my stomach rolling. My mother didn't say anything, and left the room in silence. This was all too much.

"Anahi," My father continued. "Kita used to work in the palace of the Fire Nation's Royal Family. She had an affair, and got pregnant with you. Anahi...your father is Firelord Ozai."

"What?" I exclaimed. "No...no, that doesn't make any sense! That's impossible!"

"Ozai was very much in love with Kita," My father explained. "But because of Kita's low status, they could never marry. When Kita's family found out she was carrying a...bastard child, they banished her."

"Why couldn't she have stayed?" I demanded, tears welling up in my eyes. "Why didn't Ozai protect her?"

"Because he was engaged to be married," My mother replied, returning with a small wooden box in her arms. "He couldn't do anything about Kita, and she had no choice but to leave."

"None of this makes sense," I murmured, placing my head in my hands. "My father can't be the _Firelord..."_

"Kita gave us this," My mother opened the box and extending it to me. "Ozai had given it to her as a gift. She wanted you to have it when we told you, as proof."

I made myself look inside. A small dagger, wrapped in a finely adorned sheath wrapped in leather lay amongst a velvet cushion. The dagger was secured to a thin, golden chain, meant to be worn around the neck. I carefully took the box from my mother and unsheathed the dagger, examining the fire nation insignia on the head of the handle. Carefully, I put it back, and took the dagger, looping the chain over my neck and tucking it into my clothing, out of sight.

"I have to go," I breathed, shakily standing up.

"What do you mean?" Naheel, who had been silent this whole time finally looked up. "Anahi, you can't leave!"

"I can't stay here!" I exclaimed. "Not in the Water Tribe, Naheel! I can't control what I can do, and if someone sees me firebending, I could be arrested for treason!"

"Anahi, you're family," My mother said softly. "We will always look out for each other and protect each other."

I shook my head, tears forming in my eyes. "I - I can't endanger you here. Now that I know what I am...I can't put you all at risk. If I were discovered, they would punish you all too."

"Where would you go?" Naheel asked, his eyes fully showcasing his pain.

"I have to go to the Fire Nation," I said firmly. "The Fire Nation is where I belong. I'll find a master who can teach me firebending, and - "

"This is your home," My mother pleaded. "Anahi, you belong with us."

I shook my head, running my hands down my face. "I love you all," I murmured. "And that's why I need to leave you. It's for your protection."

"Anahi, you're staying here," My father said firmly. "We'll - we'll work something out. But you're staying. You are safe with us."

I didn't believe him. That night, after everyone had gone to sleep, I stayed awake in my room and took everything that I could carry. I packed rolled up blankets and extra clothes in my satchel, and pulled on my thick, warm boots. My movements were shaking and quick, and several times, I caught myself crying. I had to be brave, even though everything I knew was falling apart.

Silent as the night, I stole into the pantry and took everything I could carry. Guilt filled my heart, and before I could bring myself to leave like a thief in the night, I seized a scrap of paper and took a pen to my thoughts.

_I'm sorry that I must leave you, but I cannot risk you being hurt by my condition. You have already risked so much just by showing me the love and acceptance that you have. I care deeply about you, and that is why I must leave. I'm sorry for taking the canoe, and for the food I took as well. I hope that you can find it in your hearts to some day forgive me. I only wish to protect you, and bring you honor._

_All my love,_

_Anahi_

I left it on the table, and left my home, hurrying out in the dead of the night and leaving the only village I had known by the silent strokes of a canoe.


	4. Chapter 3

**Hello everyone! It's so exciting to see all of the views from different parts of the world. Thank you for your support of this story, and I apologize for any errors concerning content of the Avatar universe. I do not own ATLA, or any of the characters. Enjoy, and it would mean so much if you left a review!**

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The sun had barely begun to show her face by the time my arms felt like lead from paddling so hard and I had to stop. It was barely dawn and I was exhausted, but I could no longer see the coast, much less my village.

My plan was to follow the sun, using the path as a compass. I knew I had to get north, but the Fire Nation was a long ways to go by sea. I had to get to the Earth Kingdom first, and find a better ship to take me.

I rested for a little while, taking time to eat a little, and then curled up to nap on the bottom of the boat. I didn't want to think about the possibility that I was very lost, and totally alone on a tiny canoe in the middle of a great big ocean.

As I slept, I dreamt of my parents, my real parents. I saw shadows of a man and a woman, holding each other, comforted by each other's presence. Their forms were cast in a warm red light, and I heard hushed whispers, but couldn't place a conversation. But somehow I knew, these were my parents, Ozai and Kita, and I received a strange comfort in this, seeing my parents for the first time. But it was as if I were standing behind a screen, watching them, but not truly being there. I awoke feeling empty inside, and utterly lost.

I paddled more and more throughout the day, trying to ignore the ache in my arms that was only growing stronger. I had barely a concept of time, and as the sun began to hide away behind a blanket of clouds, my anxiety only increased. With every worrisome thought that entered my mind, I made myself push it away. I would get to land again, and I would soon, even though all this water made me uneasy. I was so small compared to the massive sea, and if the canoe were to capsize... I would be swallowed whole with no trace.

I sang old songs my mother had taught me to pass the long hours, Water Tribe melodies about the ice and cold. I still shivered inside my blue parka with the quiet gusts of wind that occasionally came, and wondered if I would ever feel warm again.

By mid-afternoon, it began to rain. At first, it was a light drizzle, tolerable if I put up my hood, but it only worsened, and it appeared that I was only paddling right into the heart of it. My heart sank, and I moaned aloud in desperation. Why had I taken a _canoe_? I had no cover whatsoever from the elements, and I was now exhausted _and_ freezing cold.

In my desperation, I even tried firebending again. I remembered the warmth of the flame around my fist, and tried clenching and unclenching, to no results. I thought of my family, and knew they had to have found my letter by now. I bowed my head, curling up in guilt, knowing if I died out here, I didn't have to spare them the shame of raising a fire bender.

I was out at sea for three more days. My emotions varied from cursing my own idiocy to deeply missing my family. Who was I to think I could _row_ my way to the Fire Nation? The sea was much larger than I thought it would be, and my food supplies were quickly dwindling. I had no chance of making it alone at sea. I never should have left home. At the very least, I had solid ground beneath my feet, and food always close by. Not this frightening, frigid nothingness that I knew would be my end.

I had begun to realize that I would die out here, the massive ocean making for my watery grave. I had never been before more blindly afraid.

On the fifth day, I caught sight of land. At first, I didn't believe my eyes; the flat stretch of land against the rocking ocean floor seemed impossible. But as I rowed nearer and nearer, I saw a faraway sand, and then a coastline of trees. Inspiration seized my weak, tired bones, and I paddled as quickly as I could manage.

I collapsed onto the shore, onto the gray, wet sand, and stared up at the cloudy, dark skies. The ground beneath me wasn't swaying and rocking, and the waves lapping up and then retreating around me did not threaten to drown me. I was still.

I gathered my strength and pulled the canoe out of the water and onto the beach, where I gathered my supplies up and took an inventory. I had no food, only blankets and a thin ration of fresh water left. I had made it to land, but at what cost? My lips were parched, my brain felt as if it were enshrouded in a cloud. Hunger ate away at my stomach, and I was shivering constantly from the cold that wouldn't leave me.

The beach offered little protection from the impending rain, and I overturned my tiny canoe and propped up one end with a large tree branch. I told myself that I would sleep for just a little while, and when I awoke, the first thing that I would do was find something to eat.

Under the shield of the canoe, I wrapped myself in all of my blankets, and slipped into unconsciousness.

I awoke in a dreary haze to a blinding sun. Right away, I knew something was wrong. My weakened body felt like lead, and my skin felt hypersensitive and freezing cold. I drank the last of my water and wearily looked around, clutching a blanket around my shoulders. I couldn't die here, alone on this forsaken island. Not today.

Gathering scraps of wood from the thicket of trees bordering the shore, I tried to set up a fire on the beach. I had no matches, no flint or stone, and I resolved that I had to learn how to conjure a flame on my own. I had to try.

I opened my palm slowly, keeping my hand stiff with tension and gently blew against my palm. To my surprise, a smattering of sparks emerged, floating in the air before disintegrating. My eyes widened in shock, and I tried it again, carefully adjusting my breath to balance the amount of sparks produced. If I breathed too hard, the flame would go out, but if I were too soft, the flame wouldn't ignite at all. After many careful tries, I was able to get my tiny fire to light, a thin trail of smoke rising against the grey skies.

I moved my canoe over towards the fire and tried to shelter myself as best as I could, using the heat from my tiny fire to keep me warm. And as sick and weary as I felt, I couldn't help but feel a little bit of pride for making this fire all by myself. How long I could last like this though, I didn't know. I stared out at the empty ocean, and thought about how far I was from home.

Before the afternoon slipped into night, I spotted a shadow along the horizon, a dark, solid against the placid waves. I stood up, trying to get a better look, and then my heart went cold. I had only seen one once in my entire life, and I had been very young. Fear settled in and took stronghold in my heart. A Fire Nation warship…

To my dismay, I saw that it was nearing closer and closer into view. The sleek, steely black body with the tall smokestack looming high above and the sharp hook at the bow symbolized everything that my people loathed and feared. My first instinct was to run, but a new thought came to me. I was of the Fire Nation, as they were. I had nothing to fear, for the enemy's blood ran in my veins too.

I wrapped the blankets more tightly around myself and tried to calm the fear in my heart. All I had to do was prove to them I was a firebender, and I surely would not be harmed, right? I sat down, trying to stay calm, as the massive ship stopped about twenty yards from shore. "You have nothing to be afraid of," I muttered to myself, watching the hook of the ship open and begin to slightly lower, allowing for a smaller vessel to depart and head straight for the shore.

Without thinking, my hand went to Ozai's dagger, hidden beneath my clothes. I passed the sheathed blade between my fingers nervously, hoping beyond all hope that today would not be the day I died. I saw a small rowboat filled with three soldiers slowly moving towards me, and I let go of the dagger, taking care to leave it concealed.

"Who are you?" A commanding male's voice rang out. "What are you doing on this island?"

"My name is Anahi!" I called back, my voice sounding ragged and hoarse. "I came here on my canoe."

"A member of the Water Tribe…" The rowboat landed on the beach, and the three soldiers stepped out. They seemed to tower over me in their full military uniform, and with the haunting, white masks on, I felt as if I were staring into the faces of demons. I tried to stay calm.

"I'm not Water Tribe," I tried, looking down at my blue and grey clothing. "I know it looks it, but I'm not of the Water Tribe. I'm a firebender."

"A firebender," One of the soldiers scoffed. "I doubt it."

"Don't try and pretend, little girl," Another added. "I know who you are. A trespasser, a runaway. And you have the gall to pretend you are one of us!" The rest laughed, and I felt my blood boil.

"Do not mock me!" I stood up and shouted, but too quickly. My head spun, and my stomach gave a sharp ache and I collapsed against the wet sand. Quickly, I felt strong arms wrap around my body, pulling me up, and dragging me into the rowboat.

"You're coming with us," One of the soldiers sneered. "You can answer to Captain Song." The rest chuckled maliciously, and I turned and looked back at my canoe, my supplies, and my miniscule fire in despair. What was going to become of me now? Was I now a prisoner of the nation I belonged in?


	5. Chapter 4

**Huge thank you to everyone who has been reading, following, and reviewing! I am so appreciative of your support! Here's Chapter Four!**

After we were intercepted by the warship, I was roughly dragged aboard by the soldiers and brought above deck. I was too weak to put up any sort of fight, and I tried my best merely to keep up with their fast strides. My heart filled with fear as I saw more and more soldiers aboard the ship, all watching me.

I was thrown to the ground and an order was given for me to stay where I was. I struggled to hold myself up by my arms, but would not disgrace myself by collapsing and lying on my belly before the Captain of this ship. My breaths were ragged and sharp, and I feared the wrath of Captain Song.

As children, we were told stories of the Fire Nation's evil ways. Sitting around a fire, the elders would tell us of how they brutally tortured their prisoners, or forced them into slave labor until they died of exhaustion. The Fire Nation was ruthless, greedy, and would stop at nothing to reach their goal of world domination. And even though by blood I belonged to them, this fact alone did nothing to stop the fear from settling in my heart.

I heard footsteps and raised my head to meet the eyes of the man who would decide my fate. Above me, the Captain looked down over me, one of the view men not wearing a mask. His hair was pulled back in a topknot and he was finely dressed in robes of black, red, and gold. He was younger than I expected him to be, and I swallowed nervously.

"My name is Captain Song Etka," He introduced himself in a commandeering voice. His presence exuded strength, and I tried not to show my intimidation. "And I am the head of this ship. Who are you?"

"She calls herself Anahi, sir," One of the soldiers interjected. "She had the audacity to claim she was a firebender - "

"I asked _her_, not you!" Captain Song exclaimed sharply, and the soldier fell silent, bowing his head.

"He speaks the truth," I murmured, trying to keep my voice calm. "My name is Anahi, but I _am_ a firebender. I am who I say I am."

"You are dressed as a member of the Water Tribe," The Captain said curiously. "How do you expect me to believe that you can firebend?"

"Well, I'm not very good yet," I explained, realizing how futile my words sounded. "I needed to go to the Fire Nation to find someone who could teach me."

"Show me," He said, speaking the words that I dreaded hearing, and I slowly stood, shaking slightly.

I took a deep breath in and tensed my hands, unable to stop their wavering. Slowly I unfurled my fist, and practiced breathing out, sending a flurry of sparks out of my palm. I looked expectantly up to Captain Song, praying that this was enough. The rest of the soldiers began to laugh, and I felt my blood boil.

"That's all?" One called, and I pleaded to Captain Song.

"I _can _firebend, but this is why I need a teacher!" I exclaimed, getting desperate. "Captain, please, I mean no harm. I just want to get to the Fire Nation in peace. I _am_ one of you!"

The Captain was staring hard at me, his expression unreadable, as the rest of the soldiers continued to laugh and mock me. "My two year old son can do that!" One sneered. "You are hardly a bender!"

"Stop it!" I cried, spinning around in anger. Without meaning to, a massive arc of fire emerged from my fingertips, soaring around the soldiers, who only blocked it in just enough time to spare themselves from serious burns. I collapsed onto my knees, my energy gone, and looked back up to Captain Song.

"I meant no treason," I begged, my voice wavering. "I can't control it yet. I wasn't trying to hurt anyone, I promise!"

The Captain raised his hand, and I fell silent. "Anahi," He said firmly. "How long have you been on that island?"

"I left the Water Tribe a week ago," I breathed. "And I spent a day and a night alone on the island."

"Take her below deck," He ordered, and two soldiers seized my arms. My eyes widened in shock and fear, and I struggled to stand.

"Captain - "

"Bring her to one of the empty lieutenant's quarters and see to it that she is given something to eat and drink," Captain Song added, and my mouth dropped in shock. He turned and looked directly at me. "Once you rest for a while, we will have a talk."

"Yes, sir," I breathed, sighing in relief. "Thank you, sir."

"And there is no need to drag her," He added, a trace of a smirk on his face. "Anahi is weak, she won't hurt you."

"Yes, sir," The soldiers said, a little more meekly, offering me their arms instead, and helping me carefully below deck. I couldn't believe what had just happened. I wasn't going to die, and the Captain of this ship was now treating me as a guest! Was it my firebending that had impressed him?

"This way, miss," The soldiers said, directing me into a small windowless cabin. With a flick of his hand, the candles inside half a dozen lanterns on the wall ignited, casting the room in a warm, red glow. A warm-looking bed was tucked away in the corner, stocked fully with blankets and pillows, and I needed no further invitation to climb right in.

The soldiers left without another word, and shut my door, and it was barely much longer before I fell into a deep sleep.

I dreamed of Ozai and Kita again. Fevered moments passed throughout my mind as I struggled through the haze of reality and sleep. Figures and shadows merged together, and distorted dream-like memories of the parents I had never seen filled my mind. My family was present too, and several times, I thought I awoke, and saw Naheel in the chamber with me, or my mother and father.

Several times, I saw Naheel sitting beside me in bed, gently feeding me by spoon. "Naheel," I would beg to him, my voice raw and hoarse. "Take me home."

My brother laid the back of his hand over my forehead, and then placed a cold, wet cloth over my forehead. "You're burning up," He said softly. "Try and sleep."

"Naheel," I muttered weakly, struggling to keep my eyes open. "Why are you wearing a Fire Nation uniform?"

When I awoke again, I realized Naheel had never been in my room, nor had my family been here. Instead, to my utmost shock, Song Etka was sitting beside my bed, a bowl of soup beside him on a small table.

"Captain?" I breathed, and he turned his glance over to me and reached out, touching my forehead.

"Your fever seems to have broken," He replied. "You were out for several days."

"Days?" I repeated, struggling to push myself up. Etka stood and reached over.

"May I?" He asked, and I nodded gingerly. Captain Song reached underneath my back and helped me to sit up, tucking a stack of pillows behind me to prop me up.

"We've docked in the city of Rongyu for a little while," The Captain said. "And I've taken the liberty of providing for fresh clothes for you. In a little while, I'll have a hot bath sent up."

"Thank you, Captain," I bowed my head gratefully. "You are very generous."

"What I am so interested in knowing, is what a rogue Firebender was doing in Water Tribe territory," Captain Song mused, standing up and beginning a slow, methodical pace around the small room. "And one who barely has any control over her abilities, at that."

I froze, and felt the dagger burn around my neck. How was I supposed to tell the Captain that I was the bastard child of Fire Lord Ozai? I had no excuse that I could make to spare myself.

"You have nothing to say for yourself?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I would prefer not to speak of it, sir," I murmured, bowing my head. "It is of a personal nature."

The Captain was watching me skeptically, and I knew that this wasn't enough for him. Struggling to hold my composure, I kept my gaze firmly locked on his eyes. "Very well," He said cordially. "Then _I _shall not press it. Be warned that others might. Good day, Anahi. I shall send for hot water to be brought down to you." He bowed politely and turned to leave, but I called after him.

"Captain," I asked, and he paused in the doorway. "Am I free to leave this room?"

"Of course," He replied smoothly. "The entire ship is at your disposal."

"A - and another thing, sir," I stammered, feeling my face grow hot. "I haven't thanked you, for taking care of me. You saved my life, sir. I would have died on that island."

"I would not have allowed someone of my own Nation to suffer as you were," Captain Song replied, lowering his gaze. "You were weak, and delirious with fever. It would have been cruel to leave you to die. I am a man of honor."

"I can see that, sir," I said softly.

"Summon me if the need arises, Anahi," He said, before quitting the room, and leaving me alone with my thoughts.

_It would have been cruel to leave you to die. _Was my perception of the Fire Nation wrong? Captain Song had given me a chance, fed me, housed me, and nursed me back to health himself. Did he really care about a lost, penniless, and close to death firebender, or did he only say those things because I was of the Fire Nation as well?


	6. Chapter 5

**Hello dear readers! Thank you so much for getting this far ~ I'm having a really fun time writing this, and I hope you're enjoying reading it. As a side note, Rongyu is a fictional city of my creation in the Earth Kingdom. I don't believe it appears in the Avatar series, but if it does, please correct me. As always, your follows, favorites, and reviews are always greatly appreciated! :)**

As the Captain had promised, a large basin full of water was brought down to me and set on the center of the floor by two soldiers, along with a large basket full of many different soaps and perfumes. They each paused before the tub and in turn, shot two strikes of fire into the water, creating a steamy warm bath. I was immensely grateful, and as soon as they were gone, peeled off my grimy clothing and settled into the warm water.

I struggled to remember the last time that I had been warm like this. Baths in the Water Tribe were almost always done with cold water, and lying in a tub like this was considered a luxury. Song Etka was being incredibly generous to me, and when I saw the many different soaps and perfumes I realized that he must be a wealthy man. I washed my hair with shampoo that my family never would have been able to afford, and scrubbed the grime and remnants of my sickness off of my bare skin with a different bar. To top it all off, and because I was now feeling extravagant, I rubbed down my body with a vanilla-scented lotion. If I stayed here, was everything going to be like this?

When my fingertips and toes began to prune, I reluctantly got out of the bath, and looked over the clothing that the Captain had gotten for me. My eyes widened in shock. How different were these light, small clothes of red, yellow, and black than the heavy, fur-lined parkas that I was used too! Here there were tops that fully bared one's midriff, and skirts so short and flimsy I thought one could scarcely move in them without revealing themselves. Maybe it was because I had been brought up in a culture of modesty, but I was embarrassed just looking at them.

I chose the most conservative, taking a long grey dress that went all the way to the floor and paired it with a scarlet tunic to go over. I belted it at the waist, and fussed with the puffy sleeves that stopped just before my forearms. It was so different, so much more elegant, than what I was used to. During this whole time, I hadn't taken off the dagger, and there I resolved that it would always stay around my neck.

With that, I pulled on my boots and left my cabin to explore the ship. The soldiers now paid me no mind, and I imagined that this was all because of their respect for Song Etka. I was left alone to explore the innards of the warship, and my curiosity overcame me as I passed from room to room, eventually making my way to the helm and stumbling across the Captain himself, deep in conversation with several other soldiers. Etka looked up upon my arrival, and a reserved smile crept across his face.

"Excuse me," He said to his men, and left their company to meet me. "Are you feeling better, Anahi?" He asked, striding up beside me.

"I am, sir," I replied, looking down at my clothes. "You were very generous to provide me with so much. I am much indebted to you."

"Well, it's time you started looking like a firebender, isn't it?" The Captain smiled, and I did too, finding myself beginning to relax in his presence. I had to remind myself that I barely knew this man, and had no idea if I could trust him. I walked with him up to the deck of the ship, and the fresh air felt wonderful in my lungs. The city of Rongyu lay before us, and forgetting my manners for a second, I ran over to the side of the ship, peering over to look at the sprawling Earth Kingdom city lying before us. There were no signs of snow or ice, and the sun actually felt warm against my face. The light wind lifted my spirits and a relaxed smile spread over my face.

"We'll stay here another day, just to make sure that you've recovered well," Captain Song said, joining me at the railing. "And then set due course for the Fire Nation." The Captain paused, and then turned to look at me. "Anahi, what will you do when we arrive? Where are you going to find a teacher?"

"I - I was just going to look," I said, realizing how flimsy my plan was. "I thought maybe I could find someone who would be willing, sir."

"In the Fire Nation, children begin their training very young, sometimes as young as toddlers," Song Etka explained, watching me carefully. "If I may ask, how old are you?"

"Seventeen," I replied, and seeing the look on his face, added with some embarrassment. "And a half."

"And how long have you been firebending?"

"I - I just found out that I could, sir," I muttered. "It was scarcely over a week ago."

"That's strange," The Captain mused. "Most firebenders know their skill as children." He strode alongside of the deck as he spoke, but I didn't follow him. "Would you like me to teach you some moves?"

My face lit up with excitement, and I quickly recovered. "It would be an honor, sir," I answered, feeling flushed.

"You first need to know how to conjure a flame," He said, approaching me again, and reaching out, taking my hand in his. "No more blowing sparks." The Captain grinned, and I realized that I was holding my breath.

"Turn your wrist slowly, like this," He said quietly, moving my hand for me. "And open your palm up at the moment you want the flame. Focus your energy to that spot." Song Etka released my hand and with an effortless flick of his wrist, conjured a palm-sized flame. "Like this."

Slowly, I rotated my wrist, concentrating hard, and emulated his movements. To my astonishment, a small, orange flame flickered in my palm before being snuffed out by a gust of wind.

"That's good!" The Captain exclaimed, and I smiled. "Try to think of the fire as a part of your body. It should eventually feel natural. Do it again."

This time, I worked both hands, rotating my wrists simultaneously and focusing all of my energy all the way through my fingertips. The same effect happened, two small flames in each palm that quickly fizzled out. I grit my teeth in frustration, annoyed.

"Don't give up," Etka said quietly. "Sometimes it takes a while to master something."

"But I can do better than this!" I exclaimed out of frustration, and quickly caught myself. "You saw me, sir. I _can_ do more, I just - "

"Don't let your emotion drive your bending," Etka warned. "I saw you, Anahi. When my men were mocking you, you became angry. Your anger caused you to bend with that strength. Bending out of emotion is difficult to control. You can hurt yourself or someone else that way." Etka swallowed, not meeting my eyes. I remembered Naheel trying to show me how to water bend by the ocean, and his careful patience in teaching me. I had gotten angry then too, and nearly hurt him.

I turned away from Etka, and cast my eyes down at the city of Rongyu below. My mind went to my family, and wondered what sort of pain they had to be going through. What was Naheel thinking? That I was dangerous, that I had nearly killed him, that I was no longer his sister? All these things were true. Did my brother hate me?

"Anahi," Etka said, more softly now.

"If it's alright with you, sir," I swallowed. "I'd like to stop there for today." The captain seemed surprised, but composed himself, bowing down his head in consent.

"Of course," He agreed. "Anahi, will I be expecting you for dinner this evening?" I looked at the Captain in surprise, astonished that he would want to dine with me.

"If you so want it, sir," I replied, my stomach turning over. "I shall be there."


	7. Chapter 6

**Hello ~ Thank you all so much for continuing to read! This story is almost at 300 views and I'm so excited! Thank you for all of your support : D**

As evening fell, I found myself striding up and down the deck of the ship, trying to bring the fire back to my hands again and thinking about dinner with the Captain. Why was he taking such an interest in me? And why on earth would he want to have dinner with a runaway Firebender from the Water Tribe?

I was terrified of slipping up, revealing something about Firelord Ozai that would get me into trouble. There was no doubt that Song Etka was trying to get more information about me, and I slowly and carefully rationalized what was safe to say to him and what wasn't. My story had to be believable, and my alibi airtight.

As the day blended into evening, I had other things running through my mind, Etka's invitation to dinner being number one. Was it formal or informal, were we dining off of the ship or on it? Would it be only us eating together or in a group?

I returned to my quarters, and mulled over changing my clothing. A long dress and a tunic hardly seemed appropriate to wear if the dinner happened to be a formal occasion, and since the Captain _had_ invited me, it only seemed right to wear something nicer. I sighed in frustration, running a hand through my hair. Back at home, meals like this were rarely held on a regular basis. The only time I ever remembered having to dress up was when my Uncle Nakko got married, but it wasn't nearly as fancy as the clothing I had spread out before me.

What would my family think of me, dressing like a princess and dining with naval officers? I remembered Naheel ranting about the Fire Nation, calling them greedy bastards who only pursued their own self-gain. What would he think of me living amongst the enemy? I was a traitor to him and my whole family. With that in my heart, the last thing that I wanted to do was meet the Captain for dinner, but I had made a promise.

I reluctantly chose a sleeveless fur-lined overcoat in a deep red, and pulled it over my grey dress. It was nicer than just a tunic, I thought, as I carefully tucked the dagger under my clothes, and went to the helm to find the Captain.

"Anahi," I heard him call, and turned to see the Captain striding down the corridor of the ship. He was dressed in finer clothes too, robes of deep red and black that matched my clothes. I didn't feel as self-conscious as I had before, and smoothed my dress out. We bowed to each other, and Song Etka smiled.

"Are you hungry?" He asked, and I strode alongside him down the corridors of the ship. "I've made reservations at the Rongyu Pearl."

"Reservations, sir?" I repeated in surprise, and the Captain chuckled. "You didn't think that I would invite you to dinner on the ship, would you?" He asked, and I looked down to hide the flush in my cheeks. We departed the ship and began to stroll on foot through the streets. The sky had begun to blend from blue to black as the sun sank deep into the sky, and people had begun to light up the lanterns and windows on their shops and houses.

"It's not far," The Captain explained. "I thought that a walk would be pleasant."

"It is, sir," I said politely, looking around at the people around us. I caught the eye of a couple of small children who were playing in the street, and I saw a little girl's face instantly change from happiness to fear. She turned quickly to her older sister, and they quickly took their things and ran off. I watched them go, my heart heavy and uneasy. I hadn't done a single thing to her, and still she had been afraid.

With a jolt, I realized it was because of the clothes. I was dressed as a member of the Fire Nation, walking down the streets of Rongyu with the Captain of a Fire Nation warship. The little girl had every right to be afraid - the Fire Nation had invaded her city.

"This way," Etka touched my arm, and I was jolted from my thoughts. My glance went to his hand on my arm, and he quickly pulled it away, smoothly transitioning his touch to gesture towards the door. I nodded, and went inside before the Captain, where a host hastily hurried to greet us, bowing so low that I could see the hair thinning on the top of his skull.

"Welcome, sir and lady," He said, keeping his head bowed when he spoke to us. He never looked either of us in the eye, and it was making me uncomfortable. He was treating me like someone I was not. "Right this way."

I followed him, Etka behind me, to a private room, away from the rest of the customers. The host slid open a door to a room lit by a plethora of red lanterns, and told us our waitress would be with us in just a moment.

Slowly, I walked into the room, staring at the fine paintings on the walls, and the ornate table already set for us. "Sir, this is too much," I turned back around, to see the Captain taking a seat on a mat at the head of the table. Just then, our waitress, a tiny young woman in a dress that looked a little too big on her hurried in with water, and I took my seat across from the Captain.

"I'll have the white mountain sake," The Captain said, and the waitress turned to me, keeping her head bent and her eyes down.

"And for you, miss?" She asked, her voice timid and shy. I felt guilty, as she was most likely afraid of us as well.

"I'd just like tea, please," I said, trying to sound as gentle as possible. She bowed and hurried off, shutting the door behind her. I was alone with Etka, and I looked across the table at him. We really weren't that far apart, and the soft lighting and elegant setting made for a surprisingly intimate experience.

"This is certainly very generous of you, sir," I smiled coyly.

"You are my guest," Etka leaned back, placing both hands on his cross legged knees. "It would disgrace my name if I were to have left you to die on that island. Consider it my honor."

"Forgive me, sir," I said, lowering my eyes. "I just...I have no way of returning your generosity."

"Return the favor in telling me something," He grinned, and my eyes widened.

"I thought that you told me that you wouldn't ask any further on my past, sir," I replied coolly.

"I can't help but be curious, Anahi," He smiled, as the waitress returned with our drinks. Etka's attention only frayed from me for a moment as he placed an order for roast duck for the both of us. After the waitress had hurriedly left to put in our meal, Etka turned back to me.

"Put yourself in my position," He said, taking a swig. "You're on patrol when you see a fire coming from a known uninhabited island. You send a scouting party out, who brings back a young woman from the water tribe, who claims to be a Firebender. And _in spite_ of being extremely malnourished and sick, manages to near flawlessly execute an arch throw maneuver before falling very ill for several days. Tell me truthfully, Anahi, wouldn't you be the slightest bit curious?"

"I suppose I would, sir," I hid my face behind a sip of tea. "But how can I fairly confess to you, whom I know next to nothing about? Does that seem fair?" I was shocked at my boldness, but in spite of how warm my cheeks were, I wasn't about to take back my words.

Etka was watching me with a bemused expression. "Fair enough," He said slowly, watching me carefully. "I'll go first. My name is Song Etka, and I've been the captain of my ship for three years. I've lived in the Fire Nation my whole life, and ever since I was a boy, I've been involved in the military. My parents were born naval officers, and I've followed in their footsteps. Now, Anahi, are we on equal ground?" Judging by the smirk on his face, I decided that Etka wasn't angry with me, if only a little surprised.

"We are, sir," I agreed, bracing myself. I prayed that this would be convincing enough. "Alright. I was raised in the Water Tribe my whole life, and up until recently, I believed that I had no bending ability. I realized that I was a Firebender on accident; I got angry, and the next thing I knew, I had blasted fire from my hand." I gave a dry chuckle and realized that Etka was watching me intently. "I realized that I didn't belong in the Water Tribe, and I had to find a way to get to the Fire Nation on my own. So I ran away from home and took my family's canoe. I rowed for days, and the next thing I knew, I was being taken in by your warship, captain."

Etka was silent for a moment, and my heart was pounding against my chest. This needed to be good enough for him. "You're fascinating, Anahi," He finally spoke. "Your story seems incredulous, but you have all the evidence in which to back it up with." I gave a thin smile, and the doors opened to our waitress, our host, and who appeared to be the chef of the restaurant. The host was carrying the roast duck, and the waitress a massive array of side dishes, which were laid fashionably around the table.

"Captain Song," The chef bowed low before Etka, and then to me. "And his most honored guest. It is my sincerest hope that everything is to your satisfaction. I humbly ask that if anything is not, you notify Makya as soon as possible, and we will do our best to rectify things." I noticed his voice wavered slightly as he spoke, and like everyone else in this establishment, he did not look us in the eye.

"Thank you," The Captain said, and I noticed the waitress set down two extra glasses of sake before him. Captain Song took one and slowly drank.

"Everything looks wonderful," I said earnestly, trying to meet his eye and convey my sincerity.

"My humble thanks," The chef said, and all three bowed before leaving and closing the door behind them. My heart felt heavy, and I stared at the immense amounts of food, way more than what we had ordered. The staff of the Rongyu Pearl were doing everything they could to please us, because they were terrified of the consequences would be if they failed.

To be polite, I tasted the food, which was all delicious, but I felt so guilty eating it. My heart was too heavy, and I couldn't stomach any more. Finally, after several minutes of silence, Etka spoke, his voice quiet. "Anahi, you're not eating," He said softly. "Do you not like it? I'll send it back."

"Everyone I've seen looks terrified of us, sir," I suddenly confessed, meeting Etka's eyes from across the table. When he gave nothing but a passive gaze back, I continued, more frustrated. "The host, the waitress, even the people on the street... I feel so ashamed, sir. They're all terrified of us."

"They have reason to be," He said soberly. "The Fire Nation has occupied Rongyu for several months now - "

"But don't you think..." I blurted out, before stopping myself.

"Do I think it's wrong?" Etka looked at me with such a piercing gaze that it made my blood freeze. "Is that what you're asking?" I bowed my head, regretting my outburst. Did he think I was treasonous against the Fire Nation? Would I no longer be in his good graces?

"Then yes," He murmured quietly, and I looked up in shock. Etka was now staring hard at the grain of the table. "The brutality I have seen was not what I anticipated upon joining the navy. The way that they made things out to be... I never thought that I would have to become the man who I am now." I was stunned. This was not in the slightest what I had expected from him. "Is there any honor in razing a village to the ground, Anahi? Is there any honor in orphaning a child?" He looked up at me and I saw a pain in his eyes that I hadn't expected. My heart softened, just a little. "They tell the recruits that what we do is for the greater good of the Fire Nation, that our actions will glorify ourselves and our country." Etka sighed and exhaled through his nose. "My only defense is that _maybe_, someday, through this, there can be some sort of peace."


	8. Chapter 7

**Hello all! Thank you for reading and for all of your support! It's very encouraging :) I'm sorry for this chapter being shorter but I should have the next one out soon. Enjoy :)**

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After dinner that night, after the Captain and I had left the Rongyu Pearl and boarded the ship again, to set direct course for the Fire Nation, I still couldn't erase his words from my mind. I lay in my quarters, staring up at the steel gray ceiling and listened to him over and over again. _"Is there any honor in razing a village to the ground, Anahi?" _He had asked me with a surprising pain in his eyes "_Is there any honor in orphaning a child?"_

Whatever my initial impression of the Captain was, it wasn't _that_, and my beliefs instilled in me as a child of what firebenders were like were flawed as well. Etka's emotion, his remorse... I had been taught that a Firebender had no heart. How quickly my world was crumbling around me...

That night, I slept with a heavy heart, and did not dream of anything.

The next morning, breakfast was brought to my quarters, and I was told that we had begun our journey to the Fire Nation. I was worried. The Captain's hospitality could only go so far, and then I would be on my own. The thought of finding a place to live, food, clothing, nonetheless a teacher... I rationalized that I could be able to sell some of the soaps and perfumes the Captain had given me to feed myself for a few days, but after that, then what? I didn't want to think about it, and made myself put the thoughts of our arrival in the back of my mind.

I ate alone, worried about seeking out Etka again, and practiced conjuring fire in my hands in my room. I was improving, and nearly every time that I attempted it, I was able to bring back the fire in my hands. Each time was more and more satisfying, and the novelty of firebending never wore off on me. I always made sure that I was alone when I practiced, going off into quiet corridors to practice my stances, and even on the deck of the ship a few times, when I was certain that I was alone.

Slowly, I had begun to see the fire as not something that marked me as volatile, as a danger, but as a part of my identity. The strength and power that flowed through me every time that I bent was invigorating. I had existed for seventeen and a half years, but now, through firebending I felt like I was truly _living_.

One day, I was out on the deck of the ship, which had become my favorite spot. The fresh ocean air lifted my spirits, and I moved around, shifting stances and playing with the fire, making it arch over my head and around my body. A few soldiers stood guard, but I paid them no mind, moving freely around the flat empty space and trying to send fire out from my fingertips.

I took a deep breath, and pushed out, lunging forward, but the fire in my hands merely extinguished itself. I sighed, frustrated, and heard footsteps approaching. "You've greatly improved, Anahi." I turned and saw the Captain approaching, back in military uniform and smiling proudly at me. I was taken off guard, and felt a blush rise to my cheeks. Had he been watching me? How long had he been? "I'm impressed."

"Thank you, sir," I replied, stopping and formally bowing to him the way I had seen the soldiers do, with my fist pressed against a flat palm.

"We'll be arriving in the Fire Nation within a day," He said, his gaze going beyond me to the open sea. "Anahi, where will you go?" He asked, going over to the railing and clasping his hands over the edge. I joined him.

"What is the name of the port where we will be landing?" I asked.

"We'll be stopping in the Capital city," Etka replied.

"Then I will go there to find a teacher," I answered, fully aware that my response was pathetic. Captain Song turned to look at me, his lips tightly drawn.

"I worry about you, Anahi," He said, and I felt my heart skip a beat. _Worry? _"You don't know our customs, our laws. The Fire Nation is very different from the Water Tribe."

"I'm sure that I will be able to adapt, sir," I said quietly, looking away. Etka sighed.

"I know that we've only just met," He began, and I turned back to face him in surprise. "And I apologize if I am being too forward. But, Anahi, you have nowhere to go. You don't know anyone, you have no place to stay - "

"Sir, I - " I interjected, but Etka interrupted me.

"Let me be your teacher," He said in a rush, and I stared at him in shock.

"Wh - What?"

"I have a house in the Capitol where you can stay," He added convincingly. "And I've been firebending my whole life. I can teach you."

I was astonished, and I stared at the Captain in disbelief. "Sir, this is going far beyond basic hospitality," I stammered. "I have no means in which to repay you."

"Anahi," Etka moved closer to me, looking me directly in the eyes. He lowered his voice as he spoke, and his sincerity ensnared me. "I don't care about that. Believe me when I say this: your ability to firebend is incredible. For someone who has barely known her ability, you have shown immense prowess."

"Sir, I don't understand how you could judge that - "

"I'm not flattering you," The Captain said, shaking his head. "Even in its early stages, your firebending is some of the best I've seen. Anahi, you hold great power. It would be my honor to teach you."

I was floored by his words, and looked away, off the side of the deck at the rolling waves. I could feel the Captain's eyes on me, and I swallowed. Etka was my only connection in the Fire Nation, and he had given me no reason not to trust him. And without Etka, I had no place to go. He had essentially guaranteed me safety.

I turned back to the Captain and bowed my head. "It would be an honor to learn from you, sir."


	9. Chapter 8

**Hi everyone! Thanks for reading and sorry for the delay, Fanfiction was down for a couple days and I was unhappy with how this chapter was moving along so I had to edit it a lot. I'm still not thrilled with the end of this chapter, but the next chapter should be coming really soon, and should be more interesting. Thank you for your continued support!**

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When I awoke the following day, I realized that the ship was no longer moving. With a jolt, I knew that we had reached the Fire Nation, and I quickly got up and got dressed, hurrying out towards the deck. Soldiers were moving busily up and down the ship, and I looked for the first time at my new home.

The sun was warm and bright on my skin, and the temperature so warm that I rolled up my sleeves. I saw lividly green grass, matched by a crystalline blue sea and sky. The bustling, pulsing city sprawled out before me, and I took a deep breath. _This_ was where I belonged now. _This_ was my home.

I pushed away thoughts of my parents and Naheel, and took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. It was better for them that I was here, I told myself. They were safe because I was here. I closed my eyes, feeling something welling in my throat, and turned away from the deck and hurried back to my chambers, quickly packing my few belongings in my bag and seeking out the Captain at the helm.

"Are you ready?" He asked, approaching me with a smile.

"Yes, sir," I replied, trying to calm down my nerves. I departed with him from the ship, and looked around in wonder at the city around me.

"We'll take a carriage," The Captain said, as we stopped before an open-windowed wagon. "I thought that you might like to see the city."

"There's so many people," I breathed, immediately looking out the side after we climbed in. Rongyu had seemed enormous to me, but the Capital City dwarfed that. Men, women, and children alike crowded the streets, dressed in many shades of red, black, and white. Quickly, I realized that I was sticking out of place, and looked down at my long dress in worry. Nearly all of the women here wore much less clothing than I was, and the modesty that I had become accustomed too seemed not to be an issue here. The midriff- baring tops and loose, open skirts Etka had gotten for me were commonplace, and with the hot sun and warm climate, it wasn't difficult to see why.

"Your village must have been pretty small, huh?" Etka asked, as we ascended a hill. All of the shops here, the smells of food and spices, it was overwhelming.

"Barely a fraction of this," I shook my head. "This is incredible, sir."

"Here we are," Etka said, grabbing the driver's attention before a gated house, surrounded by many like it. He got out of the carriage to pay the driver and I followed. We were in a more quiet part of the city, and it was obvious that Etka had quite a bit of money. "This way," He ushered me through the gate, and inside the single-storied, wooden house.

The Captain's home was built around a large courtyard in the middle in a U-shaped fashion. There were doors on the outside to each room, and an overhanging roof to protect from rain as the occupant went from room to room. A pond full of brightly colored fish lay in the corner closest to the house itself, and the center of the courtyard was paved all in stone, with grass bordering the sides. The back end opened up to a large open area, and was bordered by a stone wall for privacy. It was beautiful, and I knew the Captain had to be considerably wealthy to afford this.

We took off our shoes in the entry room, and Etka took me around for the tour. "My room is here," He pointed, and then extended his arm directly across the courtyard. "And you will stay there. The kitchen is this way, the bathrooms here, and the living space is all along this back wall."

"It's lovely, sir," I murmured and turned to him, bowing politely. "Thank you."

"I'll go and prepare something for lunch," He replied with a smile. "You can get settled in, and then expect to start training this afternoon. You still have a lot to learn."

"Yes, sir," I replied, crossing the courtyard to my own room, and slowly setting down my bag. My quarters were at least twice the size of my room on the warship, with plenty of moving space. The bed was large enough for three, and shaded windows let in a soft, yellow light. A washbasin sat on a bureau in the corner, and I peeled off my dress, which had already clung to my body in this heat. Splashing my face with water, I reluctantly looked through my pack and took out a sheer, pale red blouse and a solid wrap which I tied across my chest. I was able to tuck the dagger underneath the wrap, concealing it, but the gold chain was still visible. I didn't like it, but I didn't want to risk leaving the dagger around for the Captain to find.

I put on a matching long red skirt, which hugged my hips but flowed easily around my legs, making for easy movement. I stared at myself in the mirror, looking so different from who I thought that I was. My bared stomach pudged a little over the edge of the skirt, and self-consciously, I tightened the muscles in my abdomen and pulled the skirt up higher.

Leisurely, I walked out of my room and strolled over to the pond, sitting beside the bank and watching the Koi fish swim around. I was brought back to the thousands of times on our family boat, fishing in the freezing water. Where were they now? Had my father and brother returned to the sea, pulling in the day's haul without me? I was filled with loneliness, and I wished that it were in any way possible for me to see my family again.

"Lunch is ready!" I heard Etka call from the kitchen and I stood up, forcing myself to abandon my thoughts. I walked across the sunny courtyard over to the kitchen, and smelled something delicious. I found the Captain in the kitchen, extinguishing the fire from a stove with his hands and my eyes went to a tray on the table, complete with two plates of still-steaming dumplings. "I thought we could eat outside," He said, standing up straight. His eyes widened slightly when he saw me, and he quickly recovered, bowing his head and then averting his eyes to the lunch he had made. I felt my cheeks glow pink.

"That sounds nice, sir," I said, and the Captain picked up the tray and followed me outside. We sat on the grass next to the koi pond, and I tucked my legs underneath my skirt. "This looks delicious."

"Usually I have a housekeeper who comes in and cleans and cooks and such," Etka explained, passing me a bowl and a pair of chopsticks. "But she's left for the day." I waited until he began to eat before taking my first bite, and my eyes widened as a flurry of spices and heat filled my mouth. The steady diet from the sea wasn't nearly as flavorful as this single dumpling was!

"Is it alright?" I realized the Captain was watching me in apprehension.

"Its delicious, sir," I grinned, reaching for another. "They don't cook like this in the Water Tribe."

"I'm glad," Etka replied with a smile. We made light conversation during lunch, and I realized how relaxed I was. The gentle heat of the sun radiating on my skin and the delicious food put me at ease, and with the Captain, I forgot my worries. After we had both finished, the Captain stood up and set his plate on the ground. "We can clear those later," He explained. "Shall we begin?"

"Yes, sir," I stood, abandoning my plate beside his and eagerly adopting a fighting stance. The Captain gave a slight chuckle and moved my arms down.

"I know this part is going to seem incredibly boring," He said, standing before me and dropping in to a low stance, with his legs spread evenly apart and his hands at his hips. I copied him, and the Captain stood. "But the basics are the very essence of firebending. Without them, you have no control."

He walked behind me, observing my posture. "Bend your knees deeper, but keep your back straight. Don't lean forward." Suddenly, the Captain reached forward and placed one hand on my stomach, and pulled back towards him to straighten my stance. I felt my face grow hot and looked down at his hand against my bare skin.

"Firebending is mostly offensive maneuvers," He explained, letting me go. "The idea is to attack and attack until your opponent is worn down. But you first need to learn how to defend yourself, and that starts in the basics."

"But, sir," I asked. "I can already do this. You've seen me firebend before!"

"Yes, I have," Etka answered. "And I saw great potential, but you have no self-control, Anahi. When you lashed out at my men, did you have any control over what you were doing?"

I swallowed, realizing he was right. "No, sir," I said, ashamedly.

"While you do this, breathe deeply," He instructed. "Firebending all comes from within. When you support your moves from your core, you'll be much stronger." I thought of practicing on the Captain's ship, and how I had consistently failed to project my fire outwards. I inhaled deeply through my nose and exhaled, trying to focus.

"This takes time," Etka explained. "Don't expect to have it mastered quickly. It took me months in order to project a flame."

I sighed, feeling frustrated and discouraged and wanting more, and deepened my stance.


	10. Chapter 9

**Hello everyone! My apologies for the space between updates, but here's a really long one, so please enjoy and tell me what you think! Thanks to the many new views and all my new followers and favorites!**

Training like this went on for weeks. Nearly every day, the Captain would send his housekeeper to wake me before the sun came up. I would quickly get dressed and do lengths up and down the courtyard with Etka, who I still struggled to keep up with, until the sky finally began to lighten and we would pause for breakfast. Etka hadn't lied when he had told me training wouldn't be easy, and at the end of each day when, exhausted, I would slide into a warm bath to relax, I could tell I was gaining muscle. My body was getting stronger, my endurance increasing, and I was making great strides in my training. Etka had taught me how to project my flame, and he was trying to teach me now how to block an attack. It was hard work, and I had begun noticing blisters on my hands and fingers, at the end of a particularly demanding day.

One day, I was surprised to find the sun already streaming through my windows when I awoke, and startled, I scrambled out of bed, thinking that I had drastically overslept the housekeeper's wake up call, and quickly got dressed and bolted outside.

Etka was sitting beside the pond, calmly watching the fish swimming around with a cup of tea in his hands. He looked up when he saw me, and I bowed hastily, before hurrying over to him. "Sir, I'm so sorry, I must have overslept..." I managed, but the Captain raised his hand, silencing me.

"Relax, Anahi," He smiled, setting down his cup of tea and standing. "I wanted to let you sleep in. You've been working very hard." The tension in my shoulders eased, and I sighed in relief.

"Thank you," I replied.

"I was thinking that today we could take a break from training," The Captain said amiably. "I want to take you to see an Agni Kai. I think you're ready."

"An Agni Kai, sir?" I asked.

"A formal duel," The Captain explained. "We'll go into the city."

"Really, sir?" I struggled to contain my excitement. This meant leaving the house, something that I had only done a handful of times. And a break from training was welcome any day.

"No, now I take it back," Etka smirked sarcastically, and laughed. "Come on, we'll grab breakfast along the way."

Excitedly, I grabbed my shoes and we set out together through the city. Even though it was no longer new, the novelty of going out hadn't quite worn off, and I knew without Etka, I would be totally lost. We ate fresh fruit along the way, and suddenly Etka leaned in closer to me. "We're going to be entering a rougher side of town," He said, his voice low. "Stay close to me." I nodded and watched as we neared a small building, with quite a lot of people moving in and out of it.

"This is where duels are held?" I asked skeptically. The building looked way too small for even one person to practice bending in, and Etka chuckled.

"It's a passageway that leads underground," He said, wedging himself amongst the crowds to get in. I had to push and shove some others to follow him, and craned my head to hear him above the others speaking loudly. "The arena is in there."

I followed Etka down a flight of narrow steps, struggling to stay upright amongst the throngs of people pushing around me. The Captain reached out and grabbed my hand, pulling me towards a row of bleachers. A duel was already in place, and I watched the explosions of fire flash from the two men below. Etka and I sat down, and I leaned over and watched intently, fascinated. Both men were shirtless, with thin red bands around their forearms. I saw one with a completely shaved head take blow after blow, cutting and breaking the flames shot at him as Etka was teaching me now. And yet, no one made a sound, except when executing an attack.

"Some people do it for sport," Etka explained to me in a low voice. "But most of the duels you'll see here are of a personal nature. People will settle arguments and conflicts in arenas like this."

"Doesn't that seem a little extreme, sir?" I asked. "Why would people fight like this instead of resolving things peacefully?"

"You misunderstand," Etka replied. "These types of duels are not because of someone light offense. For a fight such as this, their honor - or someone's that they deeply cared about - had to have been jeopardized. That's the difference of an Agni Kai."

I remembered how Etka had spoken about honor before, and I recognized the importance of maintaining one's reputation in the Fire Nation society. I focused my attention on the duel below us, and watched as the bald man delivered a strike so powerful I could feel the heat from my seat. "Why don't they cry out in pain?" I asked.

"Crying out is a sign of weakness," Etka explained carefully. "It is better to endure suffering quietly than to make it known to others. If one of those men were to cry out in pain, he would bring shame upon his whole family."

"Has anyone ever died?" I asked softly, watching with worry and unease. If I were on the receiving end of one of those blows, I knew I'd be in agony.

"The officials - see the men in uniform over there? They will usually intervene if someone is badly losing and can no longer fight. That's how it usually ends. Sometimes they'll resolve on their own, but it's not typical."

I was deeply impressed. I wanted to try out the moves I had seen right away, and watching the strength and skill of the firebending was entrancing. With a huge roar, the man with the shaved head raised his arms and clapped his hands over his head, then swung them down like an axe. A huge arc of fire descended with his hands and knocked his opponent onto his back. He didn't get up.

The crowd burst into cheers and I leapt to my feet. "Is he dead?" I exclaimed in horror and shock as several officiants hurried onto the field. Etka stood up alongside me, taking my arm.

"No," He said quietly. "Just wounded. What they don't show here is the long time it takes to recover, even for the victor. Burns take a long time to heal."

"Have you ever been in an Agni Kai before?" I asked, as the Captain and I began to walk out of the arena. A grim look passed over his face, and Etka sighed.

"Yes," He replied. "It was years ago, but it's something that I'd never like to repeat. I wanted to show it to you though. It's time that you knew, just in case someone...challenged you."

"Thank you, sir," I said solemnly, but still curious about what had caused Etka's duel, and if he had won.

"There's something else too," He added. "I can't stay at the house all day anymore. I don't have to go back out to sea yet, but I will have to report to the military base on a more regular basis. You'll be home alone a lot more often, but that doesn't mean that the lessons stop." Etka smirked, clearly trying to lighten the mood after what we had just seen. "So don't burn down the house."

"I'll try my best, sir," I replied, smiling at my feet.

It was a strange sense of freedom I had now. Etka had never forbidden me from leaving his house, but as I was a complete foreigner to the city, I hadn't wanted to venture alone without him, and I was always too shy to ask. Due to the Captain's regimented training schedule, I had become accustomed to rising early and practicing, albeit now by myself. Etka's housekeeper usually made me breakfast and lunch, and before dinner, Etka would come home.

I didn't want to be a burden on him, but I knew that I was. He had long days at the barracks, and then came home to teach me. He never complained, never admitted his fatigue, but I saw the heaviness in his eyes and the weariness in the way that he walked. I was his ward, completely dependent on him, and he never asked anything of me, only that I continued to train and practice harder and harder.

I decided early on then that I would do my best to help out around the house, running errands for the housekeeper, helping around with chores when I could. Etka didn't know, and I'm sure if he did, then he would demand that I stop, but I didn't mind. And I liked going out and exploring the city while buying spices or fruit or whatever we were making for dinner that night. It was a stark difference from my tiny fishing village back at home.

Every time when I went out alone, I always found myself drawn to the dueling arena. My first impression hadn't waned, and I found myself deterring from the market stands and slipping inside, watching the moves of the opponents and practicing them later during the day when Etka wasn't around. My evening training was all about the basics, blocking, breath control, stances. I was better than that, and I was ready to advance, but Etka insisted.

I was at the arena one day, watching alone and trying to ignore my conscience that I should be getting back home to practice. Today's fight was between two women, and their ferocity, the speed at which they moved around the arena, striking relentlessly was enviable. I watched in awe, slowly moving my hands and imitating their movements in my seat. I barely noticed a group of young men and women sit down close to me.

"Hey," My attention was diverted from the fight when I saw a young man slide into the seat next to mine. I saw him watching my hands, and hastily hid them in my lap. "Are you a Firebender?"

I didn't know what to say. Given where we were, if I said yes, could he challenge me to a duel too? I was already uncomfortable with him sitting so close to me.

"I saw you imitating their movements," He added. "I was just curious."

"Lucan!" One of his friends called out teasingly. "She's not interested!"

"No, come on!" Lucan retorted, turning back to me. "We were just talking, right?"

"We aren't," I said firmly, getting up. "Goodbye." I made to move past him, when I felt a hand close around my arm. I spun around, my anger rising and saw Lucan's hand enclosed around my wrist. "Let go of me," I glared at him.

"Let me try again - "

"No!" I demanded, breaking free from his grasp by jerking my hand upwards, sending a flare of fire up dangerously close to Lucan's face. "Please," I said breathily, trying to calm myself down. "I don't mean any trouble, just leave me alone."

"Don't ever..." Lucan was beginning to seethe, and I began to back up, my heart pounding. "Try and attack me - "

"You attacked me!" I retorted angrily. "This wasn't my initiation at all!"

"Lucan, calm down," A woman in his group placed a hand on his arm, but the young man brushed her off angrily. Had he been drinking? Was that why he was so aggressive?

By now, our dispute had attracted a small crowd, and with everyone's eyes on me, I was afraid to back down just yet.

"Leave me alone," I said sharply, my heart racing inside my chest. "I'm going."

"Backing out like a coward," I heard Lucan mutter under his breath, and I froze, slowly turning around.

"You are mistaken," I spat. "The coward here is you. Control yourself."

"You're asking for it," Lucan snarled, clasping a fist in his palm.

"It would be unwise to argue with me," I tried to keep my voice from shaking as I used my last resort. "I have connections with the military - "

"So you can't fight on your own?" Lucan retorted, and I was surprised to see the crowd nodding in agreement with him. "Do you need to call someone in to do the work for you, princess? Is that it?" I was panicking... If only the Captain were here...

"I can fight on my own," I said slowly, staring at him firmly in the eye. There was a heavy silence, before Lucan spoke the words I feared most.

"Then I challenge you to an Agni Kai," He said, and my blood ran cold. "And if you have _any_ honor left, you shall accept."

My jaw twitched with anger, and I nodded fiercely, knowing that I had no choice. "The only honor that has been lost - and will be lost - today, is yours." I spat, before the crowd swarmed around us, separating me from Lucan and leading me down the bleachers and into the bowels of the arena. The air deep underground was cool and moist, and only added to my sweating palms. My stomach was churning, and I glanced around in fear, trying to find at least one way out of here. I was brought to a room and was given a deep red shoulder garment and arm bands by a boy who looked barely ten years old.

"Can you do me a favor?" I asked him, kneeling down earnestly and fishing around in my pocket for a few coins Etka's housekeeper had given me. "Do you know where the navy barracks are?" The little boy nodded, and I swallowed, pressing the coins into his hands. "There is a Captain there by the name of Song Etka. You need to find him, alright? Tell him that Anahi is in trouble. Tell him to come down to the arena right away."

"Right away," He repeated, taking my money and hurrying off. I sighed, trying not to throw up because my threats towards Lucan were empty. I was going to die tonight, and my honor would be tarnished.

"Is this your first time?" I looked up to see an older woman standing outside my room. Above us, I heard a scream of pain and shivered.

"Yes," I answered, trying to conceal my fear.

"Take off your tunic and stay only in your undershirt and pants," She explained. "You'll start the Agni Kai kneeling and facing away from each other with the shoulder cloak on. When you begin, try to stay out of the line of fire."

I bowed my head, taking off my tunic as she had said and rolled the armbands up my biceps. "When the pair now are finished, you'll go up."

"I didn't start this," I told her earnestly. "He wouldn't leave me alone. I didn't want to fight him."

"But you cannot back down now," She said somberly. "That would be an insult to your whole family. You must go through with the Agni Kai; keep your honor."

I bowed my head and sat down, my heart pounding as I waited to be called to fight. I prayed for a miracle, for Etka to hurry in and put a stop to this. I was terrified that he would be too late, or even worse, if he never came at all, and I was left to burn at the mercy of Lucan. At least an hour passed where I was alone like this, until I was sent for.

"It is time," The same woman returned, and I swallowed, taking up the shoulder cloak and following her into the arena. I knelt down, with my back to Lucan, and the red garment was placed around my shoulders. I tried to recall every defense maneuver Etka had taught me, every block and stance, but my heart was racing so fast that I could barely think. With trembling legs, I slowly stood up, allowing the red cloth to flutter to the ground, and turned to face Lucan, who was glaring at me, his shoulders braced and rigid.

"Begin." A cold, collected voice boomed over the arena, and Lucan rushed at me with a loud cry, fire burning from his fingertips. I inhaled sharply through my nose, and lunged forward, sending a powerful blast towards him that he cut in half with a block and a step back.

I attacked again, slicing a flattened hand through the air and knocking him off of his feet with a jet of fire. The crowds roared and I stood, my arms braced, with a ball of fire in my hands.

Lucan was lying on the ground, and I wondered for a brief second if I had knocked him out, if this fight was already over. I took a step closer to look, and he suddenly spun up in a low stance, whipping his leg in a sickle-formation and sending a painful lash of fire towards me that I narrowly dodged by leaping up in the air.

My fear had begun to subside, and was replaced by adrenaline, and I rushed towards him for a counter strike, shooting balls of flame at him as I bolted towards him. Suddenly, Lucan leapt to his feet and lunged at me, tackling me mid-stride and lifting me over his shoulder before slamming me to the ground behind him.

I gasped for air, my breath gone, as pain blossomed all throughout my body. The crowd was roaring and my ears were screaming, and I knew that if I didn't stand, I would die. I tried to take in air, and as I slowly got to my feet, Lucan hit me from behind, a blast of fire knocking me down again. Pain and anger bubbled up inside me, and I had to do something, I had to attack him with the force I had used on Etka's ship, so long ago.

My anger was slowly replaced with rage, and I leapt to my feet, sending an arc of fire throughout Lucan's end of the arena with a guttural roar. My fury, my emotion was fueling my strength, and with that, I could gain the upper hand. I send waves upon waves of fire at Lucan with such speed that he barely had time to defend himself. "Surrender!" I screamed at him, my whole body rigid with this intense power. I leapt and kicked jets of fire that whipped down on him like a lash, I shot down balls of flame against his bare chest. I didn't see the spectators, I didn't hear their screams. It was only Lucan and I.

I roared with anger, lunging forward and executing a final blow, before suddenly collapsing, my body striking the dirt. I tried to conjure a flame again, but it was weak, and I realized that I had done exactly what Etka had warned me against, using all of my strength at once and ignoring the basics. Lucan raised his head, and a triumphant smirk crossed his face upon seeing me on the ground.

"Who will surrender now?" He sneered at me, and I grit my teeth, my hands forming fists as I struggled to stand. Lucan advanced towards me, but instead of attacking me with fire, kicked me straight in the face so hard that it knocked me onto my back. I felt blood rise in my mouth and nose, and I scrambled to my feet to the booing of the crowd. They hadn't liked Lucan's foul move.

I had barely enough time to stand before Lucan was throwing fire at me. I cut through his attacks, trying to at least stand up straight, but when I looked down at my hands, I saw burns carving their way from my arms to my exposed stomach. Lucan knocked me down again, this time with a jet of flame that hit me in the side of the head and sent me sprawling in the dust. I cried out in pain, and with a storm of shame, remembered what Etka had said about crying out. I had dishonored him.

My strength was gone, and this time, I couldn't bring myself to get up. Even pressing down on the ground with my burned hands sent agonizing pain up through my arms. I couldn't fight. I had lost.

Lucan was looming over me, one arm drawn back to deliver the fatal strike. I looked up at him, my eyes pleading with him to show mercy. My honor had been sacrificed long ago.

"Enough!" I heard a familiar voice roar, and I dropped my head into the dust, watching as Etka leapt over the walls and stormed onto the arena grounds, his expression livid. "How _dare_ you?!" He thundered, throwing a huge burst of flame that caught Lucan off guard and threw him against the opposite wall, several yards away. I watched in shock. I had never seen Etka this angry. "Get up!" He roared, as Lucan struggled to his feet. Etka's topknot was coming loose, long strands of hair hanging down his face. "Where is your honor? She is a foreigner, a guest in _my_ house!" Etka hit him again and again, with fire so strong I could feel the heat from yards away. When Lucan lay motionless on the ground, unable to get up again, Etka strode over to him and spat in the dust beside his head. "Get out of my sight," He seethed. "Never show your face in my city again."

I closed my eyes, trying to fight off the waves of burning pain that were splitting every nerve under my skin. I heard face paced footsteps running towards me, and I felt Etka's hands gingerly slide underneath me, lifting me up carefully into his arms. I groaned in pain, and I heard him call for a carriage as he carried me out of the arena. He had _won_ my Agni Kai, beating Lucan to save my honor. I rested my head against his chest, and let my consciousness leave me.


	11. Chapter 10

The first and only thing that I registered was the pain. Etka's arms moving against my skin as he carried me only agitated my scorched nerves. I had surrendered the notion that crying out in pain was considered weakness, and tears leaked out of my eyes and onto Etka's tunic.

"It's okay, it's going to be okay," He kept saying over and over. "We're almost there."

I heard women's voices murmuring around us, and I was acutely aware that I was being brought into someone's home. I had been drifting in and out of consciousness, drawn back to reality by the intense pain. Etka carefully laid me down on a soft bed, and I groaned. "Perhaps you should leave now, Captain," Someone suggested, and I felt gentle hands reach out for my clothing.

"Etka..." I moaned, and I felt him grasp my hand.

"I'll be just outside," He said earnestly. "These women are healers, they're going to help you." I kept my eyes closed, and squeezed his hand as tightly as I could manage before he let me go.

"I need to take this off," I felt fingertips touching the gold chain around my neck, and my eyes snapped open.

"No," I said firmly, grabbing the chain with blistered fingers. "I - I need that..."

"The heat from the fire burned the imprint from the metal onto your skin," The same woman said. "I promise, you can have it right back once we're done - "

"Don't..." I murmured, closing my eyes, too weak to fight her on this. "Keep it where it is."

She didn't listen, but I had no strength to fight her as she carefully took off the chain. Tiny daggers shot into my nerves as the healers did their best to remove my scorched clothing, and I didn't even have the energy to think about the consequences if Etka saw the dagger or not.

"We're just going to apply a balm on your skin," A healer's voice said. "It's going to sting, but it will help with the scarring."

I felt fingertips massaging into my arms, my chest, and I gasped as a stinging sensation spread on top of my initial agony, and I grit my teeth, tightening my fists into the blankets beneath me. "It's going to be alright." Voices spread around me. "You're going to live. We've treated worse before."

Etka came to see me when the pain had stopped. Nearly every hour, one of the healers came in to treat my burns with the stinging poultice, and I wore a loose-fitting robe for comfort and modesty. I had spent three days in their home, and was told that the Captain hadn't stepped foot once outside the house. The healers hadn't wanted him in the room as they treated me, and continually told him that I was not allowed visitors, despite his best efforts to see me.

When I saw the Captain again, gone were his regal navy robes and dignified, composed appearance. He wore a simple grey tunic and trousers, and his hair pulled sloppily back in a messy knot, pieces hanging down by the sides of his face. Etka scarcely looked any different from a common peasant, and I would be lying if I said his change in appearance didn't shock me a little. "Anahi," He murmured softly, kneeling down at my side and taking my hand carefully in his. He paused for a moment, searching for words. Finally, Etka swallowed and bowed his head, casting his eyes on the ground. "I'm so sorry."

"You saved me," I croaked, my voice harsh and sore from nights of crying in pain and lack of sleep. "Lucan would have killed me."

"You never should have been in that position," Etka said softly. He looked tired too, and I wondered how much sleep he was getting. "You never should have had to deal with that on your own."

"I shouldn't have gone to the arena without you," I shook my head, and stopped, the movement alone pulling on my slowly healing skin. "It was my fault, sir. You shouldn't have ever had to come save me."

"Anahi," Etka sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Oh, Anahi." He struggled to form words, and I realized in shock and alarm that the Captain looked close to tears.

"Captain?" I tried to sit up, and was met with a sparkling pain up my torso.

"Don't..." Etka said, ushering me to stay lying down as I was. "Don't sit up, you'll only hurt yourself more..."

"Sir," I said softly. "Please, don't blame yourself for this. In no way was this your fault."

"No, Anahi, it is," Etka said, his voice tremoring slightly as he grew more and more upset. "I've _failed_ you as your teacher. You were forced into something you barely understood, and you had no one to guide you, no one in your corner... Anahi, I am so sorry. You've suffered so much."

I was quiet for a while, and I closed my eyes, my mind taking me back to that awful day in the arena. I remembered the unabashed fury in Etka's eyes, the ferocity of his attack on Lucan to save me. "But you came for me, sir," I breathed. "You came as fast as you could and you saved my life. You have saved me so many times, Captain, and you've graciously taken me into your home and treated me as your own. It should be I who is burdened by this guilt, not you."

Etka sighed, and ran a hand down his face. "How can you be so selfless?" He laughed sadly, his attention going to our intertwined fingers. He was quiet for a while, staring at my red, burned fingers against his own. "Do you need anything for the pain?" He asked softly. "Anything at all?"

"I just want to go back to your house," I sighed. "I'll feel more comfortable there."

"I'll talk to the healer's about it," Etka promised. "They say you've been making great strides. Your body's reacting well to the medicine."

"I just want to be able to bend again," I said quietly. "At least _move_ again without something hurting."

"You will," Etka said firmly, composing himself completely and looking me in the eye. "Anahi, you're strong. You of all people, I know, can overcome this."

Anahi came home next week. The angry red burns covering her skin had begun to fade, and Etka noticed that she had begun to walk and move around without wincing. Before they had left the healers' house, he had asked them to give Anahi back her clothing, making a point to act like he hadn't seen the dagger himself.

After Anahi had initially been treated, one of the healers who had been with her approached Etka with the dagger, its sheath fastened to a chain.

"She was wearing this," The young woman had said, handing it to me. "And she didn't want to part with it. Captain, this looks like no ordinary jewelry, and I've only seen such things from royalty. Perhaps you would know."

"Thank you," He had replied calmly, trying to hide his surprise. He had turned the dagger over in his hands, staring at the fire nation emblem carved into the heel. Why Anahi possibly have had this? And why had she never mentioned it?

If someone had told him years ago that one day, Etka mused, that he would discover a young woman near death on an abandoned island with an impossible past and an even more unbelievable firebending ability, he wouldn't have believed them. But the possibility that Anahi was of royal blood began to make sense. Etka watched as she threw herself into training, fighting with everything she had to recover and grow stronger, better. He never asked her about the dagger, but suspicion was beginning to grow inside.

He had rarely seen a student learn as quickly as she was. Her basics needed work, but when he saw glimpses of her skill, the pure power that she possessed in the early hours of the morning or late at night when she thought he was sleeping, he was impressed.

Etka longed to know the truth, but never asked Anahi about the dagger, knowing it would likely only upset her. Only when he was alone, lying in bed, would he toy with the possibility that Anahi could be somehow related to the Fire Lord.


	12. Chapter 11

**Hi everyone, and thank you so much for continuing reading this! I really appreciate all the new followers and feedback ~ ! Thank you for your support!**

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I was recovering, but not fast enough. Whenever I bent, my skin burned with the fire I created, and I knew that I wasn't healing properly. I had insisted on starting back into training early, in spite of Etka's reservations, but I was feeling the strain. I never told him how exhausted I felt after every day, I never let on how much it hurt to even move. A new resolve had formed inside of me, from the minute that I stepped foot back in Etka's home. _I_ had to defeat Lucan, at whatever the cost. Etka had saved my life, but I had realized now that my honor was what had been lost that day.

Etka spent more time at home, and I could tell he was worried about me. I knew he was easing up on the rigor of our schedule together, but I continued to push for more. If he wouldn't give it to me, than I had to practice more myself. All throughout the day, I ran laps, practiced stances, and bent fire, moving the flames around my blistered hands until the pain was too much and I had to stop. I was working on projecting fire from my feet, but I was still weak. When Etka was asleep, I would train on my own, blasting fire until the moon was hanging from the top of the night sky. I was near exhaustion, but now, my honor was all that I had. I couldn't face Fire Lord Ozai with a disgraced past.

On one such night, not long after the sun and moon traded places, I was practicing in the courtyard. I was executing flying kicks, making arcs of fire that streaked across the night air like comets in the sky. I leapt into the air, kicking, turning and twisting around before launching a mighty blast from the heel of my foot, when I heard the door to Etka's bedroom open.

My teacher was standing before me, his hair hanging down by the sides of his face. He was dressed in a sleeveless red tunic and trousers, sleeping clothes, I realized.

"I'm sorry to have disturbed you - "

"Anahi," Etka interrupted me, walking into the courtyard towards me. "You've got to stop this."

I looked at him in surprise, and a little bit of alarm. "Stop, sir?" Etka walked over to me and took my hands, raising them up by the moonlight.

"You think that I haven't noticed this?" He asked. "Anahi, you're hurting yourself. You're going to wear yourself out. You can't go on like this."

"I have to," I said firmly, breaking away from Etka and turning my back to him. "I have to be strong enough to defeat Lucan."

"Defeat Lucan?" Etka repeated.

"When you rescued me in the arena," I turned back around, my voice full of passion. "You saved my life, and for that I will forever be in your debt. But my honor was lost. It has to be _me_ who defeats Lucan."

Etka looked shocked, his face plainly giving it away. "Anahi, I don't think - "

"You don't understand!" I cried out in anger. "I came here as a complete foreigner. I know next to nothing of the Fire Nation's traditions, their ways. And within a few months here, I was challenged to an Agni Kai, something that I barely understood, and I lost badly. I was publicly disgraced, _humiliated_, and I would have been killed if you hadn't intervened." I paused, sighing, the tension in my shoulders dropping. "Captain, your honor is paramount to you. Let me take responsibility for mine."

Etka swallowed, and stared down at the ground. "You think that I disgraced you by stepping into the arena," He said, and we both knew that it wasn't a question.

"Sir, I owe you my life - "

"That isn't what I said," Etka replied firmly, and I bowed my head, suddenly ashamed. "Do you think that I dishonored you when I intervened?"

My answer was quiet, timid. "Yes, sir."

The Captain raised his head, and to my astonishment, he didn't look like the angry I had expected. "I understand," He replied evenly.

"I know that it had to be that way," I said hurriedly. "You had no choice - "

"I know," He said firmly. "Which is why I'm going to help you. You're going to spar me, a mock Agni Kai."

"Sir!" I exclaimed in shock.

"It won't be all out, and it won't be here," Etka explained, moving towards the gate. I quickly followed him, grabbing my shoes. "We'll go into the forest so there won't be any fear of burning down a building."

"But you just said I should rest - "

"I see that you won't listen," Etka smirked, pulling on his boots. "And I think you're beginning to understand our system of honor. You deserve this."

"Captain, you don't have to..." I meekly protested, but I was secretly excited. Etka was the best Firebender I had ever seen, and the fact that he wanted to spar me was an honor within itself.

"You're ready for it," He said, as we quickly strode down the street. I looked up at the mountainous forest behind the city, and realized we had a ways to go. "I've seen you practice."

We reached the forest after walking for what seemed like nearly an hour, and I was weary as we reached a clearing amongst the trees and bushes. I immediately sat down on the ground, my legs exhausted. I didn't really feel like sparring anymore.

I looked up, about to protest, when I saw Etka undoing his tunic, neatly setting it down on a stone. My eyes widened in surprise, and I stared at Etka's bare chest, my face reddening. Lean muscles lined his torso and back, and a black tattoo ran up the curve of his shoulder, bordering his shoulder blades. I stood up, narrowing my eyes to get a closer look, and saw curved lines crawling up his skin mimicking a flame inching up a wall. The insides immensely detailed with intricate swirls and lines and it looked almost tribal. I realized, with a jolt, that he had caught me staring.

"I got it just after I became a lieutenant," He said, looking completely nonchalant about being half-naked in front of me. "It was off of a little Earth Kingdom island, and I remember the pain was something else. A lot of the locals had similar tattoos. I thought it looked original." Etka chuckled, beginning to stride backwards.

"It suits you, sir," I said, adopting a fighting stance. Etka grinned.

"Shall we begin?" He asked, conjuring a flame in his palm. Adrenaline began to flood my veins, and I nodded.

Etka lunged forward, sending a volley of fireballs that I brushed out of the sky, circling around and lashing out with a whip of fire that he easily dodged. "Remember," He said, sinking into a stance and springing up into a kick, striking blows of fire out at me. "This is just to spar. If you ever feel the need to stop - "

I silenced him, hitting with a gust of flame that rocked the ground. "I'll decide that, sir," I replied evenly, and Etka narrowed his eyes.

"Have it your way," He furrowed his brows, and then lunged forward, sending flaming blades arcing towards me in an incessant volley. I darted left and right, narrowly avoiding being burnt.

I leapt into the air, and with a loud cry, sent a wave of fire crashing down onto the ground. Etka brushed it away with a part of his hands, but I saw he was breathing harder. He clenched his hands into fists and at the ends, lit up two short bursts of flame, like tiny daggers. I paused, staring in surprise; I had never seen this before.

Etka rushed towards me, and began to slice and cut with his daggers of flame, and I realized he was putting me in a position where I couldn't use my bending to protect myself. I stepped back into a stance, striking his wrists and using my elbows to fend him off. I caught Etka in the chin, and when he stepped back, startled, I kicked him full on in the chest, knocking him backwards.

The Captain took sharp breaths in, and I could tell that I had taken him off guard. "Don't stop!" He cried, and I rushed at him again, but this time, he was ready. Etka caught me by the arms and used my momentum to spin me in a half-circle, before throwing me against the hard ground. My eyes widened with shock, and then pain, and I struggled to catch my breath. The wind had been knocked right out of me.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a flash of light, and I rolled out of the way just as a fireball hit the ground beside me. Heaving breaths, I scrambled to a low stance close to the ground, and swept my leg around in a sickle motion, sending a whip of fire along the ground, chasing towards Etka. I jumped to my feet and stamped the ground forcefully, propelling a sphere of flame from the earth. Pulling and pushing on the flame, I bent it around me, turning in a circle as the fire arced and looped around me. I saw Etka ready himself to strike, and I shot the flame at him with a loud cry.

The Captain caught the fire, spinning it around and smacking the lash of flame against the ground, so that it rapidly rippled up in a wave and knocked me off my feet, sending me landing painfully on my side. "Get up!" He shouted at me, and I groaned resentfully, drawing myself to my feet. I drew my arm back and shot a launch of fire forward with a punch, which he easily deflected.

"Is that all, Anahi?" Etka taunted, and I grit my teeth, striking again. "I've taught you better than to do children's maneuvers!"

"I am not a child!" I snarled, fury building inside me. With a backhand fist, I sent a wave flying at him, and with the other hand, shot fire upwards, attacking him in two places at once. I thought of my anger when I firebent, and how much more power I had. Closing my eyes for a moment, and inhaling deeply, I pictured Lucan's snarl, Etka's taunting face, how hard it was to strike him. My fury wasn't hard to tap into, and my eyes snapped open.

Etka pivoted on his side and kicked a jet of flame at me, which I ducked low to avoid, and caught. Slowly, I brought my hands down and brought the flame behind me. With a push, I shoved Etka's fire back at him like a massive tidal wave. Before either of us could recover, I struck again before the fire barely had time to subside, throwing punches of fire at him in a rapid-fire session.

"You're getting emotional, Anahi!" Etka cried, skirting around my bursts of flame as he spoke. "I know you're angry; let your anger feed your bending, but don't let it control it. You'll get exhausted too quickly that way."

I remembered collapsing in the arena after my sudden burst of power, and sat back in my stance, striking with support this time. Etka returned my shot with an arc of flame, and began to shoot short bursts of flame at me in rapid succession. His fire rained down at me like comets falling from the sky, and I blocked them with streams of flame from my fingertips. My gaze was on the sky, and I realized too late that I had let my guard down. Etka hit me full on in the chest without time to block and I went soaring backwards, landing painfully on my back. "Focus!" He shouted, and I laid a hand on my aching ribs. Etka began to strike, and I picked myself up yet again, blocking and blocking. I had no time to strike on my own, and waves of fire to combat his own weren't enough. I couldn't hold this up forever.

A jet of flame went searing too close to my face, and I rapidly raised my arms up in defense, a massive wall of fire rapidly forming up to protect me. I stared in shock, my shoulders heaving with my heavy breathing. A glowing orange wall surrounded me, radiating heat and shielding me from Etka.

_I_ had created that. _I_ was able to defend myself. I drew my arms back and drew the fire close to me, then sent it soaring towards Etka, throwing him backwards in a strike to end them all.

I stood before him, my chest rapidly rising up and down. My veins were flooded with adrenaline, and I didn't even feel the pain and aches of my body. The Captain slowly began to pick himself up, and raised his hands above his head in surrender.

"I have seen that move done _once_ before," Etka said breathlessly. "And it was by a sixty-three year old _general_."

I relaxed my stance, exhaling in relief. Etka approached me, and suddenly bowed, clasping a closed fist against a flattened hand. I had seen the gesture many times; it meant reverence and respect. I copied him, bowing low before my teacher. "Thank you, Captain," I said somberly, and we both stood. Etka clasped my shoulder with a soot covered hand, and looked me squarely in the eye.

"You're ready to defeat Lucan, Anahi," He said seriously. "And we shall find him, and you can avenge your honor. But there is a place where you first must go, and we need to leave the Capital."

"Where, sir?" I asked, as Etka released his hold, and walked over to our things. I followed.

"We're going to Crescent Island," Etka replied. "It's important for you to meet the Fire Sages and learn what you can from them before you fight Lucan. We'll get some rest tonight, and leave tomorrow morning."

I laced up my boots and stood after him, following him down the mountain. The Captain turned to me, and his face was now soft. "I'm proud of you, Anahi," He said gently. "You have brought great honor upon yourself and your family."


	13. Chapter 12

**Author's Note: This chapter will be from Etka's point of view. Also, I've taken some artistic liberties with how the Fire Temple on Crescent Island looks, so please forgive that**

Anahi and I reached the Fire Sage's Temple at around noon. She had fallen asleep on the boat, her head buried in folded arms, and I let her. I knew she was exhausted from last night, and she deserved a break. When we docked the boat in the harbor, I gently shook her awake, and Anahi sleepily raised her head.

"We're here," I said softly, and she sat up, running her hands through her hair.

"Mmm," She murmured, blinking in the sunlight, still slightly dazed. I cracked a smile, and pointed to the temple, rising from the side of the dormant volcano. "It's beautiful."

"I think you can learn a lot from the sages," I explained, as we got off the boat and began to walk the path towards the temple. "Pay attention to what they have to tell you."

"I will, sir," She replied, and I continued.

"I need to speak privately with the chief sage," I said, and Anahi looked at me curiously. "It's nothing urgent. I need his advice on a personal matter."

"Of course," She said, and I was glad that she let the subject go. How would I explain my true intentions for traveling here today to her? I would betray her trust completely.

"Captain Song," We bowed to a cluster of sages, who had come to greet us. I looked up to see the Great Sage at the head of the group, looking solemnly at the pair of us. "It has been quite some time."

"My many thanks for allowing us to come today," I said politely, bowing again. "Anahi and I are much obliged. She has much to learn from you all."

"Come inside," The Great Sage said, extending an arm, and I entered, Anahi following close behind, into the temple. The dark red pillars and the high ceilings never failed to take my breath away, and I enjoyed the view of the temple in quiet reverence. Anahi stared around, her eyes wide as she took in the majesty of the temple for the first time. It was enchanting, seeing her wonder and awe, and I found myself watching her more than I did the magnificent ancient architecture. We reached a courtyard, and I turned to the sages.

"Anahi will undergo her second Agni Kai soon," I explained, and their expressions varied from shock to confusion. "She is a very capable bender, but she still has lots to learn. I was hoping that you might be able to show her the more traditional side of firebending."

"It would be an honor to learn from you," Anahi added, bowing courteously.

"So few young people come to us for guidance," The youngest of the wizened sages smiled warmly at her. "We shall teach you, if you are ready to learn."

"May I request a private audience with you, Great Sage?" I asked, turning away from the group and dropping my voice. He looked at me solemnly, and turned to the other sages.

"We shall be nearby. Please begin." I nodded at Anahi, and left the small party alone in the courtyard. The Great Sage and I began to walk around the courtyard, circling Anahi and the Sages higher and higher as we ascended the stairs around the perimeter. I made sure Anahi was always within my line of sight, and once we were out of earshot, the Great Sage turned to me.

"My child," He said firmly, laying a hand on my arm. "What troubles you?" I sighed, casting my eyes on Anahi below us. She was bending a thick ribbon around in the air, and the Sage who had offered to teach her was critiquing her form.

"It's her," I sighed, frustrated. "She's unlike anyone I've ever met..." I told him everything, the story of how I had found her alone on the island, and how I had taken her in and begun to teach her bending. I ended with the story of the Agni Kai, and how she had nearly died. "When Anahi stayed in the healer's home, one of the healers showed me a dagger she had been wearing around her neck. It was beautifully carved and I had no idea why she had it with her. She had told me she was raised by Waterbenders, but had recently discovered her bending ability and had to leave. I believed her, sir, but when I saw the dagger she had been hiding...I had my doubts."

"A simple dagger?"

"The dagger had the insignia of the Royal Family on the hilt," I said earnestly. "I have no idea where she would have gotten that from."

The Great Sage looked down at Anahi in the courtyard, bending fire in a rippling ring around her body. "When you both arrived, I sensed a great presence entering the temple. It's a surprise that she hadn't discovered her abilities at a younger age."

"Do you think...do you think she could be related in anyway to...to the..." I couldn't bring myself to voice my suspicions about Anahi, not to the Great Sage.

"To the Firelord?" The Great Sage's calm face fell to cold severity. I paused, alarmed that I had caused some sort of offense.

"I don't know - "

"Her ability as you have described and what I have felt is certainly strong," The Great Sage said. "And I believe that powerful blood runs in her veins. If she is somehow related to the Royal Family...I would not be surprised."

Below us, Anahi stepped forward into a lunge, pressing her wrists together and shooting forth a torrent of fire. One of the sages applauded. Gripping the railing on the balcony with my wrists, I watched her solemnly, my thoughts bouncing around in my mind. If she was related to the FireLord...I couldn't imagine it. I had been sharing my home, living with and mentoring a young woman who could very well have his blood in her veins.

I had seen the strength in which she bent, the sheer power she still had difficulty controlling that had manifested itself last night. This time, I had no doubt that she could defeat Lucan, but I my doubts about her past remained unshaken.


	14. Chapter 13

**Huge thank you to everyone who has now read, followed, favorites and reviewed! I'm so thankful to have you guys :) Enjoy!**

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When we returned to the mainland, I knew that I was ready to find Lucan. Etka and I left that evening and went to the arena, dressed both in black hooded cloaks. We had agreed to split up earlier, and search for Lucan divided. Truthfully, I had no idea how I was going to find him amongst this massive city, but I thought maybe I could find someone who knew him. I patrolled the grounds around the stadium, asking for anyone who looked like him and making sure to keep my hood low.

Hours passed, and I was beginning to question if Lucan even existed, or if he was only a figment of my imagination. Frustrated from asking around and tired from walking, I stopped at a fruit stand and was about to buy something to drink when I felt a touch on my sleeve.

Already on edge, I quickly spun around, but it was only Etka, cloaked and concealed as well. "I think I've found him," He murmured in a low voice, and gestured with a nudge of his elbow over at an open-street tavern. A man of Lucan's build was slumped over a drink.

"Is he drunk?" I frowned, straightening up. "I'm not fighting a drunk."

"Well we can't exactly go over and ask him, can we?" Etka replied. "He'll recognize both of us." I sighed, looking around, and grabbed a teenaged boy not too much younger than myself by the sleeve.

"Are you willing to do something for me for money?" I asked, flashing a silver piece. His eyes widened, and I closed my fist.

"See that man by the bar?" I pointed to Lucan. "Ask him his name. And find out if he's drunk or not."

"And that's mine, miss?" He asked, his eyes falling on my closed palm, and I nodded shortly. I let go of his sleeve, and he hurried over to the bar.

"Don't stare," Etka murmured, pulling his hood over his eyes. I copied him and turned away slightly, my heart racing. "Are you ready for this?" Etka asked, looking me straight in the eyes. His gaze was piercing, and I struggled to meet it.

"I have no choice," I whispered back. "I must be."

"You can still back out now," He cautioned. "You still have time." I cast my eyes over to Lucan, and saw that his gaze was now fixated on us as the boy was talking. My doubts were now erased; this was definitely him.

"He knows," I swallowed down my fear. "I don't have time now."

I began to walk over to Lucan, lowering my hood. His eyes widened in recognition, and he set down his drink. "What do you want," He snarled. I pressed the coin into the boy's hand, and he hurried off.

"I have come to take back my honor," I said firmly, keeping my voice level. My hands were sweating.

"You're looking at the wrong person," Lucan sneered. "Go and fight your boyfriend. He's the one who dishonored you." I stiffened, my shoulders rippling in anger.

"It is not Captain Song who insulted my honor," I retorted, my face hot about the "boyfriend" remark. "It was you. I challenge you to an Agni Kai."

By now, a sizable crowd had paused to watch our exchange, which was what I wanted. Lucan had noticed too, and his eyes shifted nervously about. I had him trapped.

"Fine," He snapped. "But this time, it's _just_ you and me. _Captain Song_ will not intervene."

"He won't, and he doesn't need too," I returned firely. "Just between you and I."

"Than I accept," Lucan said, his upper lip curling. I approached him and we shook hands, firmly gripping each other's as hard as we could and slicing up and down. I stormed into the arena, and I felt Etka sidle up beside me.

"Don't forget the basics," He said, as we navigated down the bleachers and into the waiting rooms for the duels. "Stay firm in your core. Don't let your emotion control your bending, let it strengthen it."

I was breathing rapidly, and I knew he was only trying to help, but he was giving me anxiety. This time, I had no option but to win. There would be no saving this time. "You'll win this time," Etka pressed, taking my arms in his hands. "I know you will. You have the strength, and the diligence, and the will. Remember who you are."

I looked up at him, and he pulled me close to him, wrapping me in a hug close to his chest. I wrapped my arms around him tightly, pressing my head against his chest. I didn't want to leave the safety that he brought me, I didn't want to step out into that arena again on my own. Everything was at stake now. I had to go.

It took a lot of strength to pull myself away from Etka, and I stepped back, bowing to him. "Everything you have done for me," I began, my eyes cast on the ground. "I am forever in your debt, sir. Thank you."

When I rose, I saw Etka looking upon me with a strange sort of sadness and emotion in his eyes, unlike anything I had ever seen from him. He reached out and gently touched my cheek, looking me softly in the eyes. "You have the power within you to do great things," He murmured. "Know that I am always in your corner."

With that, he parted with me without another word, and alone, I changed out of my clothes. I took off Ozai's dagger, and held it aloft, looking carefully at it. I remembered the pain of the metal being burnt onto my skin, and folded it carefully in my robes so that it wouldn't fall out. This time, I wouldn't fail. I was the daughter of the _Firelord_, and I had to win.

When I was called, I stepped out onto the arena, the red shoulder cloak over my shoulders. Oddly enough, I was incredibly calm, my heart at a strange peace before the storm that was yet to come. I knew what I would have to do now, and I felt that I had the ability to win this time.

My mind passed over to my time at the Fire Temple. Shyu, one of the Sages, had taught me about the origins of firebending, and how the earliest firebenders learned from dragons. Fire does not heal, does not create, he said. Fire destroys and burns, but without it, human life cannot exist. Fire is the source of spirit and strength, and if I could master it, the power and force I would have would be unbelievable.

I looked up, and along the sidelines, high above the reaches of the flame, stood Etka, watching me anxiously. I would not fail my family, I would not fail the Fire Lord, and I would not fail him

With that, I slowly rose, the red garment falling from my back and fluttering to the ground. I breathed in through my nose and faced Lucan. I was ready.

Lucan conjured a flame in his hands, and began to run forward at me. I stepped back in my stance, my heart kickstarting and adrenaline flowing inside me. Bracing myself for impact, I intended to knock Lucan off his feet, but he had to be in just the right spot for it. _Closer..._

Suddenly, I arched my right hand up, sending a torrent of fire up from underneath Lucan's feet, throwing him backwards. I wasted no time as the crowd's roars echoed in my ears, and drew my fist back. I shot a fireball directly at him, but he narrowly scrambled out of the way, getting to his feet, and returning my attack with rapid volleys of flame. With orange-streaming jets, I knocked and dodged the comets of fire falling from the sky, my bare feet kicking up dust.

Lunging forward, I centered my core and sent ribbons of fire shooting from the tips of my fingers, bending and curling them like cracks of a whip. My whole body was electric, alive, and I could feel my muscles trembling as I bent the cords of fire. I struck Lucan once in the back, sending him stumbling forward, and caught him in the front across the chest before the ribbons of fire collapsed.

Lucan was breathing heavily and so was I, and when he sent a gust of flame at me, I narrowly stepped out of the way. That last move had taken a lot of strength, too much...

"Solidify your core!" I heard Etka shout, and I settled back into a stance, my breath rattling down my throat. I had pissed Lucan off, and his snarling face was the last thing that I saw before a burst of fire exploded towards me, knocking me back. I cried out, roses of pain blooming across my chest, and I struggled for air, breathing raspily into my lungs.

"Get up, Anahi!" I heard Etka crying out, his voice tinged with worry. My fingers curled up in tendrils of dust, and I ducked to avoid another blast. I thought of Etka's parting words to me. _Remember who you are..._

I pushed myself up, shooting fire from my hands to propel me to my feet and I casted an arc out at Lucan, hitting him hard. Slowly and determinedly, I stepped forward in a strong stance, shooting fire again and again at Lucan. _I had to make my parents proud._

I took a deep breath and Lucan shot a jet of flame at me, which I caught and spun around my body, rising up to my toes before stomping my foot against the earth again and sending the flame back at Lucan. Pausing and taking a breath before I struck again, I let myself settle back into good form before I began whipping jets of fire out at him, like I had in my duel with Etka. I felt power surge inside of me, and the thrill of victory this time was so close! I would not fail, I would not fail!

I raised my arms, turning, and a fortress of flame surrounded me like a personal protective wall. Curling my lip, I leapt forward, sending the flame soaring like a knife towards Lucan and striking him with such force that he went flying and struck the back wall with a loud thud, before slumping unconscious against the ground.

The cheers were deafening, and I shuddered, breathing hard. Blankly, I stared at Lucan, as people hurried to take him out of the arena. Oddly enough, I felt a strange amount of pity for him, and wondered if I had struck him too hard...

"Anahi!" I heard Etka cry, and turned around just as he tackled me into a hug, sweeping me off my feet. "You did it! You won."

I was numb, totally numb. My ears were ringing, and my head was pounding a steady beat. What had just happened hadn't even registered yet, and in silence, I walked out of the arena floor with Etka. "Is Lucan going to be alright?" I asked, and Etka sighed, smiling.

"He'll be fine," He said, and I noticed that he was toying with something in his pocket. "After what he did to you, Anahi, you should not be worried."

"I just can't believe it," I breathed, looking up at him in shock. "I _won_. I have my honor now."

"It doesn't surprise me," Etka said, as we walked together through the tunnels beside the arena. I stopped at my room and grabbed my clothes in a jumbled heap, not caring and not going to put them on. "You've made great strides and gotten much stronger in these past months. I'm proud of you."

"Thank you, sir," I looked up at him in gratitude as we stepped out in the night air together. Though the streets were bustling with people, total strangers to me, it felt like it was only the two of us.

"Are you cold?" Etka asked, but before I could answer, he was undoing his cloak and draping it over my shoulders.

"Thank you," I smiled, looking down at the mess of clothes in my arms. Suddenly, something clicked in my brain, and I remembered the dagger. The blood drained from my face as I frantically felt around for it, my heart pounding. Had I possibly dropped it? Was it lost?

"Anahi, are you alright?" Etka suddenly stopped. We had reached our neighborhood, and were very close to our house now. Etka stepped around me, looking at me with concern. "Are you hurt?"

"No...no..." I murmured, not finding anything amongst my wadded clothing. "I think I lost something..." I felt ready to be sick. How could Ozai's dagger be missing?

Etka relaxed slightly, and took my arm in his hand. "Come on," He murmured, dropping his voice and looking around at our near empty street. "We need to get inside."

"No, I think I lost something," I pulled against him, stubborn. "Something very important, I need to go back - "

"Anahi, come inside," Etka said firmly and I looked up at him in shock to find his face totally serious. "Someone might see."

"Might see what?" I demanded, narrowing my eyes, and Etka propelled me forwards, refusing to speak to me until we were safe behind the gates of his home.

"Anahi, I know about the Firelord," He said, pulling the dagger out of his pocket and holding it aloft. I dropped my clothing on the ground before me, staring hard at the glinting metal hanging from Etka's fingers.

"Where did you find that?" I said, my voice low, challenging him.

"I found out when you were badly burned," Etka said, his voice a twinge apologetic. "One of the healers showed it to me after they had treated you. And the Great Sage at the Temple only affirmed my suspicions. Anahi..."

I reached out and snatched the dagger from his hands, and slid it over my neck again, feeling angry and defensive. "Are you going to arrest me?" I asked, trying to hide the fear that was now creeping up inside me.

"No, no," Etka replied, holding his hands out in a gesture of peace. "I'm not going to do anything, Anahi. This doesn't change anything between us at all, I just..."

"Just what?"

"Why didn't you tell me?" He looked almost betrayed, torn between that and disbelief.

"Why didn't I tell you that I'm Ozai's bastard daughter?" I snapped, and Etka's eyes widened. "How do you think that would have sounded when you pulled a half-dead girl from an abandoned island who claimed she was the Firelord's daughter? You would have had me put to death!"

"Ozai's daughter...?" He repeated numbly, looking like I had just smacked him in the face.

"Well, what did you think?" I snapped.

"That you were a relative or - or something..."

I relaxed a little, trying to calm myself down. "My birth mother and Ozai had a forbidden relationship. He gave her the dagger before he was married to someone else, but she was already pregnant with me. Kita - my mother - was forced to flee the fire nation and eventually found refuge with my adoptive parents. She had me in secret, and begged my adoptive parents to take me in. One day, I accidentally got angry with my brother, Naheel, and discovered I could fire bend. My parents told me the truth, and I left the water tribe to learn firebending and find my parents. That's the whole story."

Etka was staring hard at the ground, taking in the whole story. My hands went to the dagger around my neck, passing it back and forth anxiously. When he hadn't said anything for quite some time, I spoke up. "So, are you going to turn me in?"

"No," He answered. "But know that this information spread to the wrong hands can be very dangerous to you. Anahi, you can trust me."

"I didn't know that when I first met you," I said in a low voice. "Do you know what I was raised on? Stories of the tyrannical fire nation, where soldiers pillaged, raped, and murdered without discretion, stories of the wicked Firelord who would stop at nothing to conquer the world. How do you think that I _felt_ when I was told that my father was the man who had put so many to death?" I felt a solid lump rising in my throat, and I bowed my head, feeling tears rising. "How do you think I _felt_ when I learned that I had become the _thing_ that everyone I loved feared the most?"

"Anahi..." Etka said slowly, quietly.

"I didn't want this!" I cried, tears spilling over down my cheeks. "Nothing _good_ comes from fire! All that I can do is _hurt_ and - and - and _destroy_. In the water tribe, there was none of this dueling, no Agni Kai's to save anyone's honor. If my family saw what I had done..." I turned away, but Etka reached out, catching my arm.

"Anahi," He murmured. "You don't have to become the person that your family despises. You can become more than your anger and more than the power you wield. You've gained back your honor today, Anahi. Use it to maintain what is right, what is just." I stopped, my shoulders slumping in defeat.

Etka reached out, pulling me into his arms and I let him, hiding my face in my hands. "You have a _gift_, Anahi," He murmured. "But most importantly, you have a heart. Don't lose yourself to your abilities."

I let myself cry into his chest, feeling the most safe I had in months inside the protection of his arms. "Sir," I murmured shakily into his tunic. "You're my only friend left."

"As long as you need it, you are under the protection of the House of Song," He said firmly, stepping back slightly and reaching out to dry my eyes with his thumbs. "There is no need to be afraid."

"I have to find the Firelord," I looked up at him determinedly. "He's the only means I have to find out where my mother is. I know who he is, and I know what he's done, but I have to go and see him. He's my only chance."

Etka paused, his face falling into a look of concern. "Anahi, I don't think..."

"I know what he can do to me," I said firmly. "And I know that even meeting with him is incredibly dangerous. I had to learn firebending first, so I might be somewhat worthy to stand before him. That's why I left home, and that's why I'm here. I have to find him, sir."

The Captain was quiet for a long time, and I could see the gears turning in his head as he struggled to find the words to say. "I can tell you right now that it won't be easy," He said slowly, carefully. "And he may not even wish to see you at all. I understand that this is something you must do, and I will help you in any way I can. This, I swear on my honor."


	15. Chapter 14

**Hello everyone! To start off, I wanted to answer iRanNoodle's question regarding how Anahi could pass up as a person from the Water Tribe if she was originally from the Fire Nation. This was a REALLY good question and to be honest, I hadn't actually taken that into consideration when I was writing this. Anahi **_**does**_ **look different from the other members of the Water Tribe, like say, her adoptive brother Naheel. Her skin and eyes are lighter whereas his are darker. So Anahi's physical differences from the villagers in her hometown along with her mentality of not feeling like she belonged there sort of made her stand out. This is sort of why she doesn't really have a lot of friends besides Naheel. **

**Kita, Anahi's birth mother **_**is**_ **pure-blooded Fire Nation, and had been forced into exile from the Fire Nation when her family discovered she was pregnant. Therefore, she had to have been traveling quite some time before she reached the water tribe. She would have had to have spent some time in the Earth Kingdom to get to the southern water tribe and be nine months pregnant and ready to have her baby by the time she met Sukah and Nasuh (Anahi and Naheel's parents). Kita would have worn typical Earth Kingdom clothing, not clothing from the Fire Nation, which would have made her sorely stand out. Sukah and Nasuh would have been more initially receptive (albeit a bit confused) of a traveler from the Earth Nation coming into the Water Tribe than the Fire Nation. In the case with baby Anahi, Sukah and Nasuh weren't about to abandon or just give away a helpless newborn, and failing to find another option without cruelty, they took in Anahi. **

**I hope this could provide some clarification! After thinking this over, I added a little flashback scene for support. Thank you for your question, that really made me think about this story! Thank you to everyone who continues to read and support this fic! I know it's been a long time between updates but I've been insanely busy, so please forgive me. Enjoy!**

The sun was sinking into the sky, and I was helping the housekeeper Naora with dinner when Etka came home. He had returned to work a while ago, and was frequently gone throughout the day, so I continued to practice on my own and help out Naora when I could. She passed me the spoon for the pot of spicy chili and I began to stir as she pulled the bread from the oven. The rich, steamy aroma filled the kitchen, and I smiled contentedly.

"The Captain should be home soon," Naora commented neutrally.

"Good," I smiled over at her. "I'm hungry." She gave me a knowing look, breaking the bread.

"You know, the Captain likes you a lot," She added, and I felt my face grow hot.

"Well, I should hope so," I smiled at the floor, then made myself look up at her. "I've been living with him for nearly half a year now."

Naora laughed chidingly, and returned to fixing dinner, and under her breath, I heard her mutter, "That isn't what I meant." Embarrassed and flustered, I finished helping Naora with dinner, and nearly dropped the ladle into the bowl of chili when I heard Etka open the gate to the house and take off his shoes.

He had a strange look on his face when I greeted him in the dining room, and looked almost nervous, like he was waiting for something to happen. "How was your day, sir?" I asked, setting down a bowl of chili before him and taking my seat.

"Fine," Etka smiled into his food and didn't meet my eyes. "And yours?"

"Is everything alright?" I asked him, swirling my spoon around my bowl.

"I think I've found a way to get us in to see the Firelord," He said, swallowing a nervous bite.

"What is it?" I leaned in eagerly and Etka sat back, looking uncomfortable.

"Well, it would require us going to a formal ball that the Navy is hosting," Etka looked up at me expectantly. "Admiral Chan will be attending, and he would be able to get us into the Royal Palace."

"That's great news, sir!" I exclaimed. "When is it?"

"This Saturday evening," Etka said bashfully. "So if you wanted to go with - with me, you would need a dress..."

"Of course," I smiled, toning down my excitement at this perfect opportunity for his sake. "I mean, I've never been to a ball before, I don't know how to really dance - "

"It's alright, I'll show you," A grin broke over the Captain's face and he leapt to his feet, grabbing me by the hands and pulling me with him. We hurried out into the courtyard, and both paused, standing closely together. I looked up at him in anticipation, and Etka took my hand, holding it out to our side. "Put your other hand on my shoulder," He said, his voice quieting. "And I'm going to put mine around your waist, okay?"

"Okay," I breathed, looking down as he placed his hand on the curve of my hip, and then up at him again.

"And then just...dance," Etka said softly, his voice dropping. He stepped to the side and I followed him, dancing a silent beat. I didn't speak, and realized that I was holding my breath, standing so closely to the Captain. Etka was looking down, watching our feet step to counts of four. "There you go," He said, looking slightly embarrassed and let me go. "Just follow me at the ball and you should be fine."

I looked up at him, and my eye caught the inside of the kitchen, where Naora was standing, giving a knowing smile. Heat blossomed over my face and I fumbled over an excuse to leave before exiting the courtyard and taking my refuge in my room, embarrassed and confused. The Captain was just my teacher, my mentor and nothing else. And this ball was only to get us into see the Firelord, nothing else. Etka wouldn't have asked me to go if it weren't, right?

These questions frequented my mind for the past several weeks, and even as Naora and I went shopping for a dress, I couldn't help but get the sense that she was seeing something that I did not. I remembered crying in the garden after Etka had found out my secret, and how he held me close till I was calm, told me that he would protect me...

"Anahi, are you alright?" Naora asked, frowning at me. I snapped out of my thoughts and smoothed down the dress I was currently wearing with my hands. The shopkeeper was standing off to the side, looking me up and down.

"This one," I said, giving a smile, and diverting the subject as quickly as I could. "I like this one the best." It was passable. The top was made of a sheer, pale red fabric that covered my shoulders, and was intricately adorned with woven threads of gold that spread down my chest and down the body of the dress, which was a dark, warm red, the color of blood.

"It looks _exquisite_ on you," The shopkeeper said, smiling warmly. "He must be a lucky guy." I felt my cheeks burn as red as the color of the dress, and ducked my head, muttering a lame excuse.

"We'll take it," Noara intervened, and I scrambled to change out of it, already embarrassed enough. If the shopkeeper, who didn't even know Etka, guessed that we were in a relationship together, what would everyone at the ball think?

"Thank you for going with me," I told her, as we exited the shop together and began to make our way back home. "This kind of thing isn't exactly my forte."

"You looked lovely in that dress," She smiled warmly. "_I_ thought so."

"Naora," I asked her, trying to conceal my concern. "What is my...expectation at this party tonight?"

"Expectation?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. "Anahi, I don't think that the Captain would ask anything more of you than a dance or two."

"Are you sure?" I persisted, nervous at the thought of hundreds of military officers, all together in one room. What would they expect of me? "Have you ever been to a ball before?"

Naora gave a dry chuckle, smiling sadly to herself. "No, Anahi," She said, and I felt embarrassed. "I'm sorry I won't be much in advice, but if you're worried, just stick with the Captain, you should be fine." When I was still quiet, she reached out and took my arms, gently jostling me in an attempt to make me smile. "Try and have fun," She said lightly, as we reached the gates of the Song household. "You're very lucky to get to go to one of these things. You'd have to know someone very high up to get to even attend."

I smiled in relief at that and looked up at the sun in the sky. It was already well past noon, which meant that Etka would be returning home soon. "I'd better go get ready," I told her, taking the dress up in my arms and, bidding her goodbye, went into my room and flopped down onto my bed in exhaustion.

"This is just to see the Firelord," I mumbled into my pillow, emitting a heavy sigh. "This doesn't

mean anything." Pushing myself up, I caught sight of myself in the mirror, my face plain, my hair flat and dull. How on earth was I going to manage this ball tonight? I was totally different from all of these people, and it still seemed that wherever I went, I didn't belong. I ran my fingers through my hair and began to braid. My mind travelled back to many years ago, when Naheel and I were still children...

_"They're whispering about you, you know," A boy Naheel's age approached me with a smug look on his face, and cocked his head over to a cluster of girls, giggling amongst themselves and stealing glances my way. _

_"Whispering why?" I asked, feeling my heart grow heavy in worry, and the boy smirked._

_"They're saying that your mother cheated on Nasuh," He said, taunting me. "That's why you look so strange. They say it was even an earth bender!"_

_"That's not true!" I exclaimed, defensive and hurt. My mother would never!_

_"Then why are you so pale and tiny?" He snorted, and I felt tears of anger and shame boil up under my eyes. "Earth Kingdom bastard."_

_I punched him hard in the face, and he staggered back, crying out loudly. The group of girls all gasped, their conversation abruptly ending, and the boy shouted loudly, holding his nose. "She hit me! She hit me!"_

_"It's not true!" I cried, a tear rolling hot and fast down my cheek. "What you're saying...it's not true!"_

_I turned and ran as fast as my legs could carry me, all the way back home, where I found my mother inside preparing dinner. "Anahi!" She gasped, looking up as soon as I can running in. "What on earth happened?" She put down her spoon and knelt before me, and cradled me in a hug as I gave my tearful confession. _

_Her face changed then, and she dried my tears with her fingers. "Anahi," She said firmly, in a voice that made my gasping tears stop at once. "You are my daughter. And you are your father's daughter, and Naheel's sister. They cannot ever take that away from you."_

I finished braiding my hair, looping two strands from each side into a bun in the back and leaving the rest to fall neatly down my shoulders. What were my parents doing now? Were they sick with worry? Or did they have a small sense of relief that such a burden of harboring me was gone? I knew they loved me, and my discovery of my past hadn't changed that, but it would be so much easier to not have the constant questions, the skeptical looks...

Sighing, I put on my dress and smoothed it over before stepping outside and seeing the Captain already dressed and waiting for me. His hair was tied back in a sleek topknot and wrapped in gold cord, and his robes were floor length and shades of earthy red and black. He looked striking handsome, and I instantly felt self-conscious.

"Anahi," He greeted me, a smile creeping across his face. "Are you ready to go? I've arranged for a carriage to take us."

"Yes, I'm ready, sir," I answered, following him outside the house and climbing aboard. The Captain instructed the driver to take us to the ball before taking his seat back inside the carriage beside me.

As the carriage bumped and rolled along, we sat in an awkward silence, until Etka cleared his throat and spoke up, looking like the air inside the carriage was too warm. "When we get there, just follow my lead. Be extra formal to the officers who are attending, and let me do the talking to get us into the Palace."

"Alright," I said, glancing briefly out the window and then back at him. "And sir, I can't thank you enough for this opportunity. I hope that everything will go smoothly."

Etka smiled humbly, closing his eyes for a moment. "Don't thank me yet, I haven't done anything," He chuckled drily. "And Anahi, please. Don't call me sir any more, just Etka."

"Just Etka?" I repeated, surprised at this sudden informality.

"It would seem strange if my date were to be calling me sir," He replied with a smile, and I felt my stomach flutter. "And besides," He added, leaning his head to look out the window. "I think we've passed the point of student and teacher."

I had no idea what to say to this, and stared at my lap for the rest of the carriage ride. If we weren't student and teacher, what relationship did we have?

What was I to him? More importantly, who was he to me?

The carriage stopped, pulling me from my thoughts, and Etka got out first, holding the door open and politely offering his hand to help me down. Wide-eyed, I stared at the towering mansion before me, decorated with large, glowing red lanterns up the steps towards the entrance. Around us, other couples were strolling inside, some greeting others and making polite small-talk.

"Anahi," Etka murmured, and I looked over at him to see his offered arm. "Are you ready?"

I slid my arm around his bicep, and took a deep breath. "Yes," I murmured back, and together, we entered the mansion.

"An Admiral is hosting this party," Etka explained, and as we drew closer to the ballrooms, I could hear the fast paced music, and sounds of people dancing and talking. "I'll introduce you."

"S - Etka," I quickly caught myself. "I don't know anyone here."

"Then make friends," He grinned down at me, pausing before ballroom. "You won me over." I felt my stomach turn over, and my face grow hot. Etka and I strode through the open doors, and I was immediately taken aback by the sheer splendor of it all.

The red walls were adorned with hundreds of small yellow lanterns, creating a look as if the stars themselves had come down and settled in this very spot. Tables were off in a corner, and while there were some couples sitting, the majority were on the dance floor, whirling and dancing to a rapid beat. Finely dressed, high-ranking men and women were laughing, talking, and enjoying themselves.

"Would you like to find our seats first?" Etka asked, and I nodded, letting him lead me over to the clusters of tables.

"Captain Song!" We both heard the voice of a young man cry out, and turned to see a man with his hair half done up in a knot and the rest spilling down his back moving quickly through the tables to reach us.

"Captain Zhang," Etka's face split into a grin, and by their mock-formality with each other, it was apparent that they were familiar.

"Glad you finally showed up," Captain Zhang grinned, his eyes then falling on me. "Well, Etka, are you going to introduce me to your lovely lady friend here, or will I have to continue to guess?"

Etka chuckled and extended a flattened palm towards me. "Izo, this is Anahi," He said with a smile, and then looked over at me. "Anahi, this is Captain Zhang Izo."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," I smiled politely, going to shake his hand, but the Captain took it up instead and pressed my fingers to his lips.

"The pleasure is mine," He looked up flirtatiously behind my hand, and I struggled to hold back a giggle, surprised at his ridiculous formality. "Now, where which tea house have you been hiding in all this time? I've never seen you before."

I paused, stuck at this question. I couldn't just tell Zhang Izo that I was from the Water Tribe! Before I could flounder an answer, Etka spoke up. "Actually, Anahi has proven to be a very powerful firebender. I had taken her in as a student, but she's as good as I am, if not better." He smiled over at me and I scoffed.

"I haven't surpassed you," I chided him teasingly, and turned my attention back to Izo for a moment. "He flatters too much." We all laughed together, and I felt myself beginning to relax.

"Come, let's go find our seats," Etka turned to me, and I let go of his arm, following him amongst the throngs of people to a circular table with name cards written in stunning calligraphy. Izo and his date, a young woman with her hair piled in an intricate updo, were seated with us also, and I smiled politely, remembering what Etka said about making friends.

"Sojin, this is Captain Song's date, Anahi," Izo introduced us, taking a seat beside her. "Anahi, this is my wife, Sojin."

"It's lovely to meet you," Sojin smiled warmly at me. I bowed to her before taking my seat, and noticed that she was obviously pregnant. I felt a sudden swell of self-consciousness. Here were Etka and I, sitting with his friends who didn't look all that much older than him and were already married and expecting a child. Looking around the room, I saw the majority of the guests were older men and women, all married. I knew it wasn't true, but it seemed like Etka and I were the only ones who weren't married here, or at least _together_.

"When is the baby due?" I asked pleasantly, and Sojin beamed, placing a hand on her swelling stomach.

"The midwife says I have about four months to go," She said with a quiet pride. "Izo thinks it's going to be a boy, but I'm pulling for a girl."

"That's so exciting," I smiled. "I'm happy for you. I'm sure you'll both be great parents."

As Sojin and I made casual small talk, discussing baby names and things like that, I noticed that Etka and Izo were engaged in a much more serious discussion. Etka's fingers were arched and he was tracing them along the table, pointing out different places along an invisible map. I realized he and Izo were making plans of battle, and my heart sank.

Sojin caught on to how I was feeling and reached over, touching her husband's arm with a playful pout on her face. "Not here, Captain Zhang," She said languidly, drawing out his name. Izo looked up and smiled at her, relaxing his hands. "It's a party, remember? Ooh, look! I think the food's being served now!"

Waiters dressed in robes of pale yellow began to enter into the dining area, carrying towering stacks of food on wide dishes. Most of the couples dancing had returned to their seats now, and a few more people joined our table to enjoy their meal. Etka and Izo immediately stood when an older couple came to take their seats with us, and bowed low. I locked eyes with Sojin, and we did the same until they were seated.

"Commander Lu," Etka smiled warmly, with reverence. "What a pleasant surprise to have you and your husband sit with us."

"The pleasure is ours," A woman spoke with white hair wound tightly into a bun and lines creasing her eyes and mouth. She looked over at Etka and Izo kindly, and I wondered if she had been their commander at some point.

As Izo and Etka spoke with Commander Lu, Sojin and I made ourselves busy with the many courses being laid out on our table. There was more food than I knew what to do with, and I made sure to try a little bit of everything.

"Our son is on a mission down South, near where you had been deployed, Captain Song," Commander Lu's husband was speaking now, and my ears had caught his mention of the South. "The plan is to secure the lower Earth Kingdom villages and move up the interior."

"I've heard their villages are small, and far apart," Izo mused, then cracked a grin. "It should be like taking candy from a baby." There were laughs all around from everyone except me. My body was cold and I felt like I was going to be sick. Talking about conquest and murder like it was nothing?

I felt soft fingers brush against my arm, and I saw that Sojin was trying to get my attention. She silently cocked her head towards the doors, and I shyly nodded. Pushing back her chair and standing up, she pulled me to my feet with one hand and laid the other apologetically over her belly. "Please excuse Anahi and I," She smiled to our table, and looked down and gave her belly a quick pat to explain herself.

I quickly followed her out of the dining room, glad for an excuse to leave that conversation. My blood still ran cold in my veins, and the thought of villages burning, people screaming as loved ones died hadn't escaped me. Sojin pulled me into a bathroom, and leaned against the tiled walls. "I noticed you looked upset when they were talking about taking the Southern Earth Kingdom towns, so I thought I'd pull you out before things got too intense." She smiled and I said nothing, looking at my hands. "Izo is fine at home, but once you get him with his comrades, the war is all he ever talks about." She reached over and touched my arm consolingly. "Is there something you want to talk about?"

I realized that Sojin was looking for an explanation, and that telling her I was worried about the safety of Earth Kingdom peasants was not going to suffice. Then, something dawned on me. "It's just," I gave an apologetic smile. "I worry about Etka in these type of things. He doesn't talk about his last employment, but I just...I worry something will happen to him." Etka vs the Innocents? _Whose side was I on? _"Forgive me, Sojin, I just...I wish this war would be over."

Sojin's face relaxed and she gave a knowing chuckle. "Oh, Anahi, I completely understand," She jostled my arms in an attempt to relieve my distress. "I feel the same way. Whenever Izo would leave I would spend so much time worrying whether or not he was alright whenever I couldn't go with him. But you've got to trust that Etka will come back to you. I can tell he cares about you an awful lot."

"You can?" I asked her curiously, and Sojin winked at me.

"These things are obvious," She said knowingly. "I could see he likes you from the minute you both arrived. Just look at his eyes." Sojin smiled at me comfortingly. "If Etka is deployed, _if_ he's deployed, he'll do everything he can to come home. I know it."

"Thank you," I said gratefully, but my heart was still uneasy as we entered the dining room again. The music had started up again, and while some people remained at their tables, the majority were out on the dance floor again, dancing and twirling to a lively beat.

I saw Etka excusing himself from our table's company, and make his way over to Sojin and I. Sojin excused herself as Etka drew closer, and lowered his voice to a murmur. "Anahi, I'm so sorry," He breathed, standing close to me so no one else could hear. "I know that was - "

"Are you going to be deployed?" I asked him abruptly, my voice completely betraying my now-realized fear.

Etka's face fell, and he sighed. "I don't know yet," He murmured. "I've been lucky to have these six months at home with - with you." My heart skipped a beat, and I folded my hands together. "Maybe if there's a way that I can get out of it, pull some strings - "

"I just don't want you to get killed," I breathed, and Etka's face changed. He opened his mouth, like he was about to say something, but the voice I heard instead was not his own.

"Captain Song?" A young man called, and we turned to see a lieutenant in a loosened tunic hurry up to us. "I'm sorry to interrupt. This next dance calls for ten couples. Would you and your date mind dancing this one?"

I glanced up at Etka, surprised and uncertain. He masked his expression with that of politeness, and smiled down at me. "If Anahi would like to, then I shall as well."

I was caught off guard, my face flushing. "I - I don't really know any dances," I gave a half-hearted mutter, when Etka took my hand.

"We'll talk later," He said, smiling encouragingly. "It will be fun."

"If you say so," I tried to lighten my mood, following Etka onto the floor.

"I'll do all the work," Etka grinned, as we got into lines of two facing each other. I felt a little less embarrassed after just confessing to him that I was afraid of him dying now that we were on the dance floor, and I glanced at the other couples to see what to do.

The beat started, a steady, heavy drumbeat. The women held out their palms straight in the air, and I mimicked them. Etka stepped forward, pressing his hand against mine and turning a slow circle around the center. Suddenly, the drums paused, and then the sound of an erhu came flying through the air. Etka switched directions, his hand sliding around my waist and pulling me sharply close to him. I cried out in surprise, bursting into laughter as I grabbed his hand and he spun me out in unison with the other girls.

The drum beat picked up, with the erhu soaring out above, and the dancers all moved into a large circle. The man beside me reached for my hand and I gave it, and to my shock he spun me and lifted me around the waist, hoisting me into the air in one easy motion before setting me down, only to have it done by the next man in the circle. The women around us were flying in the air, soaring like birds to the beat of the music in unison, and I exhaled as I reached Etka at last and felt his strong hands wrap around me. It was beautiful.

The couples resumed a standard dancing position, and I felt Etka's hand go down to the small of my back. "Lean back," He said, and I did, trusting him to support me as the music swelled and he dipped me, leaning low over me. I locked eyes with him, and we both began to laugh, as Etka pulled me to my feet again. My worries of battles fought and lives lost dissipated, and Etka lifted and twirled me midair two more times before setting me down, and bowing to the other couples, as the dance ended and the room filled with applause.

I beamed up at Etka smiling and laughing. "That was crazy!" I scolded him, and he gave a shy chuckle, as the next song began, a slow number played on strings. "You made it sound like it was going to be some simple little jig!"

"I told you I'd take care of you, and I did," He teased, and I sighed, resting my hand against his shoulder as the beat slowed down.

"Yes," I smiled down at the floor, my heart racing from the last dance and now from being so intimately close to him. "You did."

We were silent for a while, dancing contentedly to the gentle music, and I was aware that the atmosphere had changed from playful fun to a much more quiet, serious nature. "Anahi," Etka said softly. "I - I meant to tell you earlier. You look beautiful tonight."

I felt my face turn red, and I gave an embarrassingly girlish giggle. "Thank you."

"Anahi, while you were with Sojin, I was able to talk to Admiral Chan and get us into the Imperial Palace in two weeks." Etka continued and my mouth fell open in shock. "We will have an audience with the Fire Lord."

"Etka, that's wonderful!" I exclaimed, but he pressed on diligently.

"Anahi, you realize that this could go very badly," He continued, turning us slowly to the gentle beat. "I've told you this, but I just want you to know that I'll protect you. If he turns on you..."

"Etka, he could kill you," I murmured, my face falling.

"I just need to make sure that you're alive, that you're safe," He said, his voice low, as the song ended. I lowered my hands from his, looking up at him with baited breath. I felt Etka's arm slide by mine, and he tipped his head over to an exit. "There's a garden out there. Let's talk alone."

I walked with him, my heart racing, and we stepped outside into the cool night air. You could still hear the music and conversation from indoors, but it was still far more quieter out here. Under the silvery moonlight, Etka paused, and I turned to him. "Do you realize what you're saying?" I asked him.

He looked down at me, his eyes nearly pleading with me to understand. "I'm deeply in love with you," He confessed, and before my mind knew what I was saying in reply, my heart spoke in its place.

"I'm in love with you too," I breathed, and suddenly, all of my worries came freely spilling out. "And if you have to leave, I'm terrified of something happening to you, somebody hurting you, somebody k-killing you..."

"I won't let that happen," Etka promised, his hands gently finding my face. "Anahi, I am wherever you are."

He bowed his head and kissed me, and I felt all of my worries slide away under his touch. Under the moonlight, I slid closer in his arms, kissing him back. Only one word came to mind, _finally_.

Etka pulled away, a dreamy smile on his face. "You don't know how long I've wanted to do that," He murmured, making me blush shyly down at his arms around me. I wanted him to never let go.

"How much longer must we stay here?" I asked. "I want to be alone with you."

"Stay?" Etka repeated, his face lightening. "We can leave right now if you want."

"I'd like that," I smiled warmly, and he released me, his hands lingering for just a second longer.

"Come with me," He said eagerly, sounding five years younger than he was. "I'll get the carriage ready right away." I slid my arm into his, and we re-entered the ballroom, trying our best not to break into a run and remain composed. We bid Izo and Sojin goodbye again, before stepping outside of the mansion, where hundreds of coaches and carriages were standing and waiting.

I followed Etka, my heart beating out of my chest as he signaled to our carriage driver and helped me in. Riding off away from the party, it was not long before I found myself wrapped in his arms again, my lips locked with his. _Finally._


	16. Chapter 15

**Thank you all for your continued support! I'll try my best to update more frequently :)**

The next morning...

* * *

Etka was still asleep beside me when I woke up in his bed. In a soft, foggy daze, I came to my senses, taking in the yellow sunlight filtering through the paper shades, and the soft sheets lying tangled between our legs. His naked chest rose slowly up and down as he slept, and one arm was sprawled over behind me where I had been sleeping. A warm feeling spread down into my stomach and pleased smile crept its way up my cheeks as last night returned to my memory.

Etka loved me. He loved me. He had told me so under the light of the moon, and I had told him that I loved him too. And he kissed me and then kissed me some more in the back of the carriage on the way home, and I had found myself sleeping with him instead of on my own that night.

I cast another look at him, clutching the sheets over my chest, and smiled softly to myself. Everything felt so peaceful, so right in the world.

Careful not to wake him, I slowly climbed out of bed with a sheet around my body, my eyes finding our clothes that had been rushedly cast on the nearest chair. I needed to find something to wear, but I was too afraid to disturb this tranquility that had caressed the room.

"Anahi?" I turned to find Etka with an arm thrown over his eyes, waiting for his vision to adjust in the light. He sat up sleepily, propping himself up with one arm and rubbing his eyes with his hand. I looked over at him and smiled.

Etka gave a long sigh and climbed out of bed, joining me by the window and wrapping his arms around me from behind. "Good morning," He murmured, kissing my cheek.

"Good morning to you too," I returned, leaning back into his chest.

"Are you hungry?" He asked, nuzzling his head beside mine. "I'll cook breakfast."

"You're not half bad," I teased, and he let me go, pulling on some pants and a loose beige tunic before heading out to the kitchen.

I pulled on one of Etka's shirts before walking over to my room and pulling on a pair of loose trousers. His tunic swallowed me up, and I wrapped myself in it cozily, feeling content and safe with a part of him around me.

I met him in the kitchen, where he was turning over scrambled eggs on the stove. "Let's go someplace today," He said, shifting the eggs from the pan to a plate and adding spices.

"Go where?" I asked, a little surprised. Did this mean he wanted to take me on a date?

"There's a theatre downtown, and the Hira'a Acting Troupe has several shows running now."

I was excited and a little honored that he was asking me to go out with him again. I felt almost as if we had passed the first step, that even after the first night, we still loved each other, still wanted to be together. I smiled warmly at Etka, glad he was here and no one else.

We went on many such dates - walks along the coast, sailing in the harbor, riding in the jungles beyond the Capitol - as the date for our meeting with the Firelord drew closer and closer. Etka was doing well in keeping me distracted from what was sure to come, but I couldn't shake the nerves and anxiety I had about this meeting.

I lay in his bed two nights before we were to go to the Royal Palace. His arms were wrapped around me and my head lay gently against his chest, listening to him breathe slowly in and out. "How are you feeling?" Etka murmured, his fingers languidly playing with my hair.

"I don't know," I said softly. "I just feel like there's not enough time."

"Time for what?" He asked, frowning.

"Time for me to figure everything out. He's my father, Etka, and he could very well kill me, or you." I paused for a moment. "I wonder if he even knows I exist."

"Whatever happens, I'll be right behind you," He promised.

"I know you _will_ be," I replied. "I'm just afraid that you'll _have_ to be." Etka kissed my forehead and was about to speak when a knock on the door interrupted him. Startled, I climbed off of him, wrapping my loose robes around me tighter.

"Naora?" Etka called, sitting upright. "What is it?"

The door was pushed open slightly ajar, and the housekeeper's wide-eyed face poked through. "Sir, there's someone here."

"At this hour?" Etka frowned, getting out of bed and throwing on a tunic. "What do they want from me?"

"Actually, sir, it's not you they want," Naora cast a glance at me. "He was asking about Anahi. He said he found out she was staying with you."

Etka cast me a startled look. "Could this be about Lucan?" He whispered, and I felt a cold feeling sink into my stomach.

"That was ages ago," I said fearfully. Was this someone Lucan knew, out now for revenge? How had he possibly found Etka's home?

"Stay in here," Etka said firmly. "I'll go out and deal with this."

"Etka - "

"Please," He said, and by his face, I knew it was not negotiable. Etka left the room, and after I was certain he was gone, I followed him, peering out at the courtyard from behind a pole. The hooded stranger was standing next to a fearful Naora, his face cast in shadows.

"Who are you, and what is your business here?" Etka demanded, glaring the man down.

"Are you Captain Song Etka?" The man replied with a question of his own. Etka paused before he answered.

"Yes, now answer my question," He said evenly. "Why have you come here?"

"I need to see Anahi," He said firmly. "I was told she was living with you."

"Why?" Etka demanded, and the stranger's body stance changed.

"What are you doing with her?" He demanded aggressively. "Where is she?"

Flames appeared around Etka's hands, and he raised an arm threateningly. "Get out of my house," He warned.

"Not until I see her," The stranger returned, and Etka lunged forward at him, throwing a jet of flame at the stranger, who narrowly dodged and rolled out of the way.

"I'll ask you again!" Etka shouted, his shoulder's arching. "Get out of my house, or I'll kill you!" He sent arches of fire spinning towards the man, and the man raised an arm of his own, omitting a stream of water that shone in the moonlight.

"Where is she?" He roared, conjuring a wave and throwing Etka back against the wall with it. I burst out into the courtyard, running as fast as my legs could carry me.

"Naheel!" I cried, throwing my arms around my brother and nearly tackling him over.

"Anahi!" He exclaimed, looking at me in shock. His aggressive stance melted away instantly. It had been nearly a year since I had last seen him. He was taller, his jawline more prominent and covered in a light stubble.

"How...how are you here?" I cried, tears of joy in my eyes. "How did you find me?"

"After we found out you had run away, I left home too - to find you," He explained. "I didn't stop searching, Anahi. I knew I had to find you again."

"Naheel..." I breathed, tears in my eyes.

"Anahi, what is going on?" Etka slowly stood, now soaking wet. He glared angrily at Naheel, and I stepped aside.

"Etka, this is my _brother_, Naheel," I answered, trying to diffuse the situation. "Naheel, this is Captain Song Etka. He's been teaching me Firebending."

"You live with this man?" Naheel asked me in disbelief.

"He saved my life," I said firmly. "I would have died on my own if he hadn't found me." I cast my eyes over to Etka, willing him to see that Naheel was not a threat. "He was only acting to protect me, Naheel. He...he thought you were someone who wanted to hurt me."

My brother dropped his voice, moving closer to me. "Has he ever..._hurt_ you, Anahi?" He looked me square in the eye; the sincerity and openness hadn't gone away.

"No, never," I replied, realizing that there was a lot that Naheel didn't know. I turned back to Etka, who was disgruntledly giving Naheel an untrusting look.

"Etka," I said softly, going over to him and touching his arm. "He's my brother. Can he stay for a little while?"

"Alright," Etka said, refusing to keep his eyes off of Naheel. "He can stay in one of the guest bedrooms for now."

"Thank you," I murmured, squeezing his hand, and Etka's face softened.

"Come along," I told Naheel, sidling up to him again and hugging my brother. "There's a lot that you need to know."


	17. Chapter 16

**Hey everyone! Thank you so much for continuing to read and support this fic :) Please excuse any artistic liberties I may take with the Royal Palace. Also, some familiar faces may appear in this chapter ;) enjoy!**

The day had come, and I hadn't slept a wink the night before. I laid in my own bed, tossing and turning amongst the sheets, and staring hard at the ceiling. Tomorrow, I realized, was the most important day of my entire life. I would come to terms with my past, and I - or Etka or Naheel - could very well die for it.

At first, I'd refused to let Naheel come. Where I had stuck out in the Southern Water Tribe, he stood out even more in the Fire Nation, from everything to his appearance, his clothes, and his manners. My worry was that the guards would instantly pick Naheel out as a foreigner, and decide to turn on us all. I wasn't going to put Etka into that kind of situation, and certainly not my own brother.

But when I had expressed my worries to both Naheel and Etka over lunch, Naheel had adamantly refused. "I'm not letting you walk into that place all on your own while I sit and wait here," He had said with a dark frown.

"She's not going alone," Etka had reminded him with a look. They had both become more civil to one another, but I had the feeling neither one of them actually trusted the other. "I'm going to be with her the entire time."

"Naheel, I just don't think it would be a good idea," I said gently. "It will be fairly obvious you're from the Water Tribe, and if they find out you can bend - "

"I won't use my bending unless things turn bad," Naheel promised. "I want to be there. If something happens - "

"I'm not a helpless little girl anymore, Naheel," I protested, but my brother shook his head.

"But you can't defend yourself against the entire Fire Nation army - and neither can Etka," He pointed out firmly. "I know that the three of us aren't invincible, but having another person there... Well, if someone got into trouble, saving said person would be more effective with two people as opposed to one."

I knew Naheel wasn't talking about Etka, and Etka knew it too. When I cast a glance over at him, I saw him make eye contact with Naheel and nod slowly. "I agree with Naheel on this," He said stoically. "Having him come along would be an advantageous asset."

I knew that both of them could not be swayed, and I sighed, resigning to the fact that I would have to be extra careful. If Naheel were to be hurt in any way in this, after coming so far, I could never forgive myself.

Etka came into my room that morning, looking handsome in robes of deep scarlet. He saw that I hadn't slept, sitting upright and wrapped in blankets. "I'll go make you some tea," He said, then turned and added, "Strong tea."

Wearily, I got up, and found my nicest robes, and carefully put them on, then fashioned my hair in a modest braid off of my shoulder. When I came outside, I saw Naheel sitting by the koi pond, wearing some of Etka's clothing and fussing with the sleeves in distrust. He looked so different, his hair pulled back like Etka wore his, and dressed in fine Fire Nation robes of red and black.

"Look at you!" I tried to sound lighthearted, but it fell flat. Naheel looked up, and his face changed when he saw me.

"Anahi," He stood up and embraced me, wrapping me in a firm, strong embrace that I really needed. "You look beautiful."

"Thank you," I said, pulling away with a sigh. "I just...this day has been on my mind for nearly a year. It needs to go perfectly."

"Don't worry too much," Naheel said comfortingly. "You'll show the Firelord the dagger, and I'm sure he'll show you some sympathy."

"He's my only chance at knowing where Kita could be," I said, touching the dagger that remained around my throat. "I have to go. I must know."

"Anahi," Etka approached the two of us, holding a cup of steaming tea in his hands. "Please, drink." Etka had rarely shown me affection since Naheel had arrived, at least not in the presence of my brother. I thought that part of him was almost afraid of how Naheel would react.

"Thank you," I said gratefully, taking a careful sip.

"We have a carriage that will take us to the palace after breakfast," Etka told us. "While we are there, it is absolutely critical that you display the utmost in politeness at all times. Always show your obedience to the Firelord, and any members of his family."

Naheel stiffened, and I saw his jaw become more rigid, like it always did when he became upset. "I know you don't like it, but this is the price of wanting to come along," Etka added pointedly. "Just follow everything that I do."

I finished my tea, and set the teacup down. "Will you do this, Naheel?" I asked. "You can't cause a scene - "

"I'm not going to cause a scene," My brother scowled. "I'll do everything that needs to be done. I know how important this is for you."

"Thank you," I replied, getting shakily to my feet, and looking around at both of them. "Are you ready?" I asked, and each man nodded. I closed my eyes and exhaled through my nose. "Then let's go."

When I had seen the General's mansion at the Naval Gala, I had scarcely imagined any building more greater, and more beautiful. But the Royal Palace made General Chan's home look like little more than a tool shed.

A massive scarlet pillar loomed over us, with two smaller twin barricades upon either side, terraced and bordered in gold. It took my breath away, just by the sheer size alone. Fear settled into my heart, and I realized that this had to be the Firelord's intention.

I felt Etka's hand brush by mine, and I looked down, sliding my hand into his own. With our long sleeves, it merely looked as though we were walking close to one another. As we approached the gates, he squeezed hard before letting go and approached the guards, speaking in a low voice. "I am Captain Song Etka, and this is Anahi and Naheel. We have an audience with the Firelord today under the authorization of Admiral Chan."

"Admiral Chan," One of the soldier's opened a scroll of parchment, and they both peered over it together. The same soldier looked up and nodded curtly. "Cleared." He looked up to an outpost before the gates and signaled with his hand to let us through. "You will have an audience with the Firelord after his afternoon meal. You will be sent for in the main courtyard." The gates began to open with a bone-jarring screech, and we began our slow, steady walk on the sand-colored stone towards the entrance. My hands were shaking and covered in a thin sheen of sweat, and several times, I wanted to bolt and run. The dagger hung around my neck like a millstone.

Naheel was rigid the entire time, his shoulders drawn and clenched. I knew he was equally angered by and afraid of the soldiers. I was still uneasy about them myself, but I had to trust that Etka would get us out of any problems. The one thing that he couldn't protect us from though, was Ozai.

"Maybe this is a bad idea," I turned to him abruptly, after we were led into a lush courtyard filled with flowering trees and calm, reflecting ponds. "I shouldn't be here. I don't know what I was expecting - "

"You've come all this way," Etka said forcefully, looking me dead-on in the eyes. "You've _fought_ for this day, and now you tell me that you don't think you should be here?" I was a little taken aback by his forcefulness. "Anahi, this is your _right_ to be here. I'm not letting you leave."

I cast my eyes frantically around, willing that no one but Naheel could hear. "What if he kills us all?" I whispered. "Etka, it was wrong to come here - "

"You have to know," He said firmly. "You have to find your mother. He could be your only chance."

"Etka's right," Naheel murmured. "I don't like it here either, but you sacrificed your entire life for this moment. Don't give that up to your fear."

Suddenly, Etka's eyes widened, and he abruptly grabbed my arm. "Both of you, get down on the ground and kneel," He said, bending down. Startled and alarmed, I began to follow him.

"What is it?" I asked worriedly, grabbing Naheel and pulling him down to his knees beside me. To my shock, Etka placed his hands before him and prostrated fully onto the grass. "It's the Firelord's children. Princess Azula and Prince Zuko. Wait until they pass before standing, and stay quiet."

Following him, I knelt and pressed my forehead against the grass and stole furtive glances as the two children strode by. Both didn't look much older than twelve - not exactly children, but young nonetheless. The boy - Prince Zuko - had dark hair like his sister and pulled into a high ponytail that waved in a little black tuft in the air. His sister walked in front of him, looking over us with a smirk on her face. Something about her, her eyes that seemed to only look on us with a cold mockery and scorn, made me feel as though a rotten plant had bloomed inside me and was choking me from the inside out.

"Oh look, Zuko," She sneered, her high, icy voice ringing out over the quiet of the courtyard. "_Beggars_ have come to appeal to Father."

I felt my blood boil with anger, and I heard Naheel exhale sharply beside me. She was no better than I was. We had the same Royal blood. The Firelord was her father and mine. It was shocking to think that someone like this, even as a child, was still my sister.

"I wouldn't call them that," Zuko said, but quietly, and Azula didn't hear him. We waited until they were out of sight before standing again, and Naheel looked furious.

"That will be the last time that I bow to a _child_," He snarled, and I stared at him in surprise. This was the most upset I had _ever_ seen my brother.

"Naheel," I murmured softly, touching his arm to calm him. I was still shaken from this encounter with Azula.

"You're no different than she is." My brother turned passionately to me. "You should have the same birthright she has. That's not fair to you."

"I'm a bastard, remember?" I muttered dryly, pulling away from him and taking a seat on the stone edge of a fountain. "You forget, Naheel, that I'm not supposed to exist."

"Anahi," Etka said consolingly, trying to take a seat beside me, but I brushed him off with a wave of my hand.

"It's fine," I said brusquely. "It's really fine."

"Don't - "

"I don't want to talk about it anymore," I said forcefully. "Please."

Both Etka and Naheel fell silent, and my brother took a seat beside me. I stared hard at the grass, and felt each man at once reach for my hand. I took them both and felt reassured, knowing that they would stand by me in my hour of need.

"There's been something on my mind," Etka said, keeping his voice low. "If something goes wrong and we need to leave, we need a rendezvous point, in case we have to split up."

"That's a good idea," Naheel answered. "Except I don't know the city like you both do."

"Did you come in by the harbor when you got to the city?" Etka asked, and Naheel nodded. "By the end of the docked ships, there's a temple on top of a hill. It's a nunnery, and anyone who goes there has a law of sanctuary - the soldiers cannot follow us there. It would be safe, and the ocean would provide for a fast getaway."

"That's perfect," I said, looking around. Again, my heart picked up, my mind imagining worst-case scenarios in which we might need to quickly leave. "If...if we had to leave, we should try our best to stay together. If that's not possible, either Etka or myself should stick with Naheel. He doesn't know the city as well as we do."

"I'd feel better with that as well," Naheel gave a sad smile, and this only made me feel worse, as if making a break for it was something to be expected and not the worst case scenario.

I willed things to go well.

We stayed together, hands interlocked and tightly grasped, until one of the soldiers came for me. "His Royal Majesty is ready to receive you." I stood up, and turned back to Etka and Naheel, who had also gotten to their feet as well.

"Stay here," I said, willing for them to understand. "I must go alone." Naheel passed Etka a fleeting look, and Etka sighed, slowly moving towards me and pressing his lips against my forehead.

"Good luck," He whispered, cracking a smile. "I love you."

"I love you too," I replied, before looking over and nodding at Naheel. He already knew.

And I turned away, leaving them both, and followed the soldiers to the Firelord.

**A while ago, someone had asked Aang and the gang existing in this story, and I'd held off on answering that question until now. Yes, they exist here, but this story at present takes place a few years before they come into the scene. Zuko and Azula are in this chapter, and (according to the Avatar Wikia, Zuko was 13 when he was banished) this is set a year before Zuko's "falling out" with his father and exile. I hope that helped! More information will clarify itself as the story continues on. Thank you for all of your support.**


	18. Chapter 17

I felt as though I were about to collapse when I entered the throne room. My heart was racing, my knees were weak, and now, I had no Etka or Naheel beside me.

The throne room was cavernous, the high ceiling supported by hundreds of towering pillars. And along the walls were lapping, dancing orange flames, throwing off a massive amount of heat that made me feel ready to collapse and pass out in my heavy robes. As soon as I saw the outline of the Firelord, seated atop his throne at the center of it all, I fell to my knees, prostrating myself before him.

_This was my father. This terrifying man was my _father.

"All hail the Firelord!" I proclaimed, as Etka had taught me, all the while trying to keep my voice from shaking.

"What have you come here for?" Ozai asked, his voice sharp and cold. "I do not give charity."

"I am not asking for your charity, Your Majesty," I shouted above the crackle and roar of the flames. "I - I only come with a request for information."

"Stand up, and come closer. I cannot hear you," He ordered crossly, and I obeyed, pausing before him and bowing my head, my hands finding the dagger. How was I going to tell him this? The most important thing of my life, and I hadn't thought once to rehearse it. "Well? What have you come to say? Do not waste my time."

"Your Majesty, what I'm about to tell you will sound unbelievable, but I have proof," I said, slowly removing the dagger from beneath my robes and holding it tightly in my hands.

"Many years ago, there was a young woman, who was deeply in love with a prince, and the prince was deeply in love with her," I said slowly, keeping my head bowed respectfully. "But the young woman was of lower class, and she and the prince could not be married, especially since the prince was already engaged. To promise his love to her, the Prince gave her a present before his wedding, but what...what he didn't know was that the young woman was already...pregnant." I whispered these last words, gaining the courage to finally look up at Ozai. My father was staring at me, his eyes enormous, alarmed. It took me aback to finally look upon his face, for the first time.

He had long black hair, running down his broad chest, and dark, inky black eyes. He had a long, narrow beard and his mouth looked like it had frequently been etched into a frown. For someone who looked so harsh, I wondered how Kita had ever grown to love him.

"The prince," I continued. "Didn't know that he had fathered a child, and the wedding went on as planned. But the young woman still had the unborn child. When her family discovered that she was carrying a child out of wedlock, they disowned her. Having no place to go, the young woman left the Fire Nation in secret and wandered through the Earth Kingdom until she reached the Southern Water Tribe and gave birth. She begged a fisherman and his wife to keep the baby, and they agreed, and the young woman disappeared, leaving only _this_ as proof of her story." I held the dagger aloft, so that Ozai could see.

He had considerably paled, gripping the edges of his throne with white knuckles. _He knew. He remembered_. "Where did you get that?" He managed with strangled voice. "What do you want?"

_"I _am Kita's baby," I said, tears welling in my eyes. "This was hers, and she gave it to my adoptive parents so that one day I would know. I'm _your_ daughter." There was a silence, a silence so loud I thought that I would burst. "I - I had to find you, Your Majesty," I continued, pleading. "You're the only one who might know where my mother is - "

Ozai held up a hand. "Be quiet," He commanded, and I fell silent, swallowing nervously. He stood, sighing shakily and still gripping hard the armrest on the throne.

"Kita..." He breathed, staring almost brokenly beyond me. "Ohhh God, Kita..."

I watched him, my heart racing inside my chest. The Firelord's face was masked in pain, his eyes looking as though the thing he had held most dear had been ripped from him. I stayed absolutely still, afraid that anything I could have said or done would ignite a furious rage.

Suddenly, Ozai turned to me, and I flinched, quickly bowing my head again and averting my eyes. "Who knows about this?"

"The family that I lived with," I blurted out, hoping that my words would not be damning them. "And my two companions, Captain Song Etka, and my adoptive brother, Naheel. They are all sworn to secrecy, Your Majesty. No one else knows."

The Firelord exhaled, relaxing slightly. "Alright," He mused, still looking quite shaken. "You and your companions will stay here at the palace for the time being. I want no one to know of this, do you understand me?"

I knew this was under threat of my life, and I nodded fiercely. "I understand, Your Majesty, and I thank you for your benevolence." My voice was trembling, and I wanted nothing more than to flee.

"Leave - leave me now," He said, taking a seat back on his throne, and I bowed low to him before hurrying from the throne room. I was scared of turning my back to him, and breathed a heavy sigh of relief once I was beyond the doors, falling against the wall and running my hands down my face. They were shaking so fiercely that I could barely hold them aloft.

I heard a footstep, and with a start, realized that I was not alone. My heart felt as though it had suddenly turned to stone when I saw Prince Zuko standing before me, his look of pure shock betraying his knowledge of everything that had transgressed in the throne room.

"You - Your Highness," I stammered, clumsily bowing towards him. "I - I…"

"Is it true?" He demanded, sounding slightly hurt. "Is it true that you're my...my sister?"

"Yes," I gave a strangled whisper. "I'm sorry."

Zuko looked away, closing his eyes. I knew how hard this must be to take in, to find out that everything he thought was true had been convoluted by an unexpected variable. "I can't believe that he would do something like that," He murmured.

"It was before His Majesty was married to your mother," I tried to comfort him. "It was before he had you and Azula. He didn't even know I existed until today."

"It doesn't matter," Zuko scowled, then added. "It's not like he cares about me anyways." My heart sank.

"I'm so sorry," I said gently, trying to make him feel what I felt. The prince looked up again, meeting me in the eye. He was only a little shorter than I was.

"You're lucky it wasn't Azula who overheard," He said, beginning to walk past me, and I followed him.

"How so, Your Highness?"

"You're just lucky," Zuko repeated, and I decided to drop it. From what I had seen of his sister, I had already hated.

"Will - will you tell anyone, Your Highness?" I asked nervously. "The Firelord swore me to secrecy."

"No," Zuko said firmly. "I'll keep your secret." He paused, and I realized that he had taken me back to the courtyard, where Etka and Naheel were waiting. Upon seeing Zuko and I, they quickly got to their feet. "Just be careful. Others will not."

"Thank you, Your Highness," I said, doing my best to convey my sincerity. "And, I'm sorry - about all of this. I know it must be hard for you to take this in - it was hard for me too."

"It's not your fault you were born," He said grimly. I stared at him, hoping for an explanation, but he never gave one. Zuko gave me a close-lipped half-smile that did little to conceal his feelings, and left me.


	19. Chapter 18

**Hi everyone! Thank you all for your support! Im so happy with how this story is being received :) The beginning of this chapter will be again from the POV of Etka, and starts just a few moments before Anahi and Zuko return to the courtyard. When the line appears (hopefully it shows up this time), the narrative will return to Anahi. Enjoy! (P.S. On a side note, I apologize for any weird punctuation marks or strange gaps that I may have missed. When I pasted this chapter in from google docs, as ****I've always done, it added all this weird code in between paragraphs and cut out parts of sentences. This has never happened before so it was really annoying trying to get it all out. Anyway, that's what that is, if you do happen to run into it.)**

Naheel was staring hard at the fountain of water, dipping his fingers in and playing with the water, making it swirl and dance around his fingers. "Stop that," I said in a hushed whisper, and he took his hand out defensively. He gave me a hard look. "That's reckless. Someone might see you."

"There's no one but us in here," He retorted, but thankfully kept his voice low.

"We can't cause trouble," I reminded him. "Not for Anahi." I thought of her, alone in the throne room with the Firelord. Not knowing what was happening, not knowing what the Firelord was or wasnt doing to her was killing me.

"I know." Naheel looked away, and I tried to see things from his point of view. He had been thrown - much like his sister had been - into a world where no one looked like him, no one thought like him. He had to suppress every act of who he was to protect his sister, and I knew that this must be a challege.

Naheel swallowed, playing with his sleeve, and looked over at me again, an unreadable look in his eyes. "Etka?" He asked.

"Yes?"

"There's been something on my mind for a while, Naheel said carefully, and I watched him in anticipation. "And I don't want to ask Anahi about it, because...because, well, she's my sister." He paused for a minute, and I saw that his cheeks had turned slightly pink.

"Etka," He asked me. "Are you sleeping with my sister?"

I felt all of the blood rush up to my face, and all of a sudden, I couldn't look Naheel in the eye. "I am...I mean, _we_ are - "

"Are you or aren't you?" Naheel pressed.

"We are, I said hurriedly, watching his expression in apprehension. Naheel gave a heavy sigh, running his hand down his face. "Naheel, I swear to you upon my honor that I never forced her, I never made her. I would never, ever hurt her."

His silence upset me, and I thought that he was angry with me. I didn't understand the customs of the Water Tribe, and perhaps I had caused a serious offense. I got to my knees before him, kneeling down and bowing my head in humility. Naheel, if I have dishonored you or her in anyway, I beg for your forgiveness, I said solemnly, then paused. I love her. And I would never do anything to hurt her."

Naheel looked down at me, wearing an expression mixed with surprise and disbelief. I looked up at the younger man, willing him to know that I only had good intentions, that I only loved his sister. "Will you protect her?" He asked, his voice low.

"Always," I replied, bowing my head respectfully to him. "I would give my life for her, if the need came." My mind passed again to an image of Anahi with the Firelord, and I saw her again in the arena, getting brutally beaten by Lucan. Was that what was transgressing inside the closed walls of the throne room? I stood up, my gaze and attention fixed towards where she had left with the guards.

"I'm afraid for her," I replied gravely. "I don't think that coming here was the right decision. The Firelord will not react kindly to a bastard child. It could weaken the monarchy, and I fear for Anahi's life."

"After this, we need to leave the palace as soon as possible then," Naheel said, his face stony. I looked back at him and nodded, sliding down on my seat against the fountain. "Have Anahi lay low for a little while. You too."

Suddenly, we both heard footsteps, and I got up quickly. To my utter astonishment, Anahi and Prince Zuko were walking side by side, appearing to be in serious conversation. They paused before the entrance to the courtyard, and the Prince said something to her before turning solemnly away and leaving her. Anahi looked slightly shaken, and I ran to her, wrapping her tightly in my arms. She was here, she was _safe_. For now.

"What happened? I pressed, pulling away slightly to meet her eyes. "What did he say?"

"He...he didn't really say anything," Anahi said softly, and I noticed how tightly she was holding onto me still. "I told him the story of my mother, and I showed him the dagger. The Firelord became very quiet - it was clear that he still remembered her - and he made me swear not to tell anyone about who I was. He's allowing us to stay in the palace until...until I don't know. He didnt say what he would do to us."

I didn't want to share with her my fear that this would only turn things for the worst. I could see that she was already upset, and still very much afraid from her encounter with her father. It occurred to me then that in my arms, I was holding a princess.

I exchanged a glance with Naheel, and led Anahi over to the fountain again. "We've done all that we can," I said, trying to comfort her. "Let's find the room and get settled, alright?"

"Alright," She said quietly, and took my arm when we stood to find a soldier who could give us directions. I was worried about her, worried for all of us. Would the Firelord show us mercy because of his love for Kita, or would we all be dead before the sun arose tomorrow?

* * *

Our room was not really a single room, but an apartment style suite with four bedrooms, a bathroom, and a small kitchen. Each of us took a bedroom for our own and deposited our few belongings we had brought with us. I considered myself right away to be under house arrest, and refused to leave the quarters in which we had been stationed.

I was so rattled, so mixed up from today's events. I stayed in my room, lying on the bed and staring at the ceiling, planning ways that I could get Etka and Naheel out of here alive. They didn't deserve to be punished for who I was. I thought of Zuko's last words to me, and reminded myself that I shouldn't be either.

Eventually, Etka came in, saying nothing at first and only sitting beside me, holding my hand. I stared at the floor, tears slowly welling in my eyes, and then suddenly threw my arms around his neck. "I'm so afraid," I murmured, my voice shaking in fear. "Etka, this was a mistake. Ozai's going to kill me, and you, and Naheel, and it's all my fault. We never should have come - "

"Anahi, Anahi," He soothed, his voice gentle and calming as he tried to dry my tears. It's going to be alright. We're going to find a way out of here, okay? But right now, we're safe - "

"That's a _lie_, Etka - " I protested, and he gently shushed me, pulling me close to his chest. I held onto him, clinging to his robes like a baby. "I can't let him hurt you." I said passionately, taking his face into my hands. "And I will die before Ozai hurts you or Naheel."

Etka's face softened, and he sighed heavily. "I promised your brother the same thing about you this morning," He said quietly, and my heart plummeted. I leaned my head forward, against his chest, feeling insurmountable waves of guilt washing over me.

"This is all too much," I moaned. "I can't, Etka, I can't."

"You're putting too much pressure on yourself, He murmured gently, kissing the top of my head. I looked up at him and he kissed me on the lips, closing his eyes, and making me forget for a brief moment. Etka never failed to make my heart skip a beat. "What's happened has happened," He murmured softly. "All that we can do now is wait."

"I can't bear the waiting," I said, falling back onto the bed and sighing heavily. "I just want this to be over. I want to go home."

"I know," He said comfortingly, lying on his side and gazing tenderly down at me. "We just have to go through a little more, and then this will all be over. I promise." I looked up, gently caressing his cheek and surprised to find a little bit of stubble already there.

"I love you," I said softly, kissing him again.

Later, Etka fell asleep beside me, but I did not. I lay with him folded into my arms, his head resting against my chest. I watched him, watched the ceiling, watched the door. If soldiers burst in, ready to kill us, I envisioned myself exploding in anger, wiping them all out in a single blast before taking off with Naheel and Etka in tow, ready to destroy anyone who crossed our paths.

It frightened me, how ready I was to take someone's life to protect those I loved. And it frightened me still to know that I was ready to lay down my own so that they could live.


	20. Chapter 19

"Anahi, Etka, get up."

Naheel was grabbing me by the arm, and I realized that I must have fallen asleep at some point. "What is it?" I muttered groggily, as Etka rolled over beside me.

"It's the Firelord," Naheel's eyes were huge, and looking behind him, I saw two soldiers standing in the doorway, their silhouettes of their helmets making them look like those of demons. Instantly, my heart kickstarted, and adrenaline rushed through my veins. I sprung out of bed, ready to take them out.

"Firelord Ozai demands an audience with you," A faceless soldier said sharply. "Immediately."

"What about them?" I demanded. Beside me, Etka sleepily stood up, stifling a yawn.

"His Majesty doesn't want them, he wants you," The opposite continued. "You will come with us."

I glanced quickly over at Etka and Naheel, and slowly raised my hands to calm them. "Stay awake," I said firmly, striding forward towards the soldiers. One of them grabbed me roughly by the arm, and Etka started forward.

"Hey!" He shouted, balls of fire appearing around his fists, and I brusquely shoved the soldier's arm off of me.

"Etka," I warned him, pleading with him to stop before he got us all killed. His eyes met mine, and I saw the genuine fear he felt. "I'll be fine." I met Naheel's gaze, and he nodded firmly, taking a step in front of Etka.

"Come on," One of the soldiers grabbed my arm again, propelling me forward, and I jerked free from his grasp.

"Enough! I will go with you!" I snapped, striding pointedly before them. They accompanied me out of the apartment, where I saw two more soldiers were stationed by the door. The silvery light of the full moon shone against their armor, and I tried to ignore the fear settling into my heart as we approached the throne room.

We I arrived, Ozai didn't even give me time to kneel before striding quickly towards me. Dark crescent moons hung underneath his eyes, and a few pieces of hair had slipped from his topknot, and framing his almost manic expression. "Anahi," He said raggedly, and I was so sure that he was going to kill me right then that I stepped back, conjuring fire in each hand.

Ozai stopped in his tracks, more shocked than anything else. I stayed standing, ready to fight. "You're...you're a fire bender," He muttered numbly.

"Yes," I said firmly, staying put in my stance.

"Relax," He said, loosening his shoulders. Untrustingly, I put out my fire. "I'm not going to attack you."

"Why have you called me here?" I asked, and if Ozai cared that I had dropped all use of formalities, he didn't show it.

"I wanted to talk to you," He said, his voice softening. "About your mother."

That hit me unexpectedly, and I struggled to hide my surprise. Did Ozai know where my mother might be? The Firelord's face softened as he looked into my eyes. "You look just like she did," He said, remembering her. "She wasn't much older than you when we met."

"What was she like?" The words came out of my mouth in a barely audible whisper before I could stop them.

"She was very kind, kind to everyone from the lowest servants to the nobility," Ozai said softly. "She was always so patient, but timid. I think firebending frightened her, at least, mine always did." He had turned away now, and I got the sense that he was lost in his thoughts, and I was only privy to listening to them. I was startled, and a little alarmed to see the Firelord like this - a completely different man than when I had last seen him.

"Your Majesty," I asked, pulling him back to reality. "Do you know where she could have gone?" Ozai turned back to me, his face composed, cold once more.

"No," He said, and I stopped completely.

There was a time when Naheel and I were young, and had gone penguin sledding on a group of otter penguins nearby our village. I remembered the rush of the wind in my hair, the icy, biting cold on my face and the spray of tiny bits of ice and snow that would go up in my wake. I remembered the happy, euphoric feeling I had, laughing so hard my cheeks hurt, and thinking that I was flying, or close to it.

On one such day, the otter penguin I was riding hit a bump in the snow, and I was so small that I went flying off the otter penguins back and hit the ice so hard that the wind was knocked right out of me.

At first, I hadn't processed the pain, but then it hit all of a sudden, and I was struggling to breathe, and my entire chest hurt where I had landed. Naheel had come running over straight away, and back at home, my mother had said that I had broken two ribs.

Right now, it felt like had when I hit the ice. All that I had come here for, everything that I had left behind at home meant nothing now. I was back to square one. My mother was just as lost and gone as she had always been.

"No?" I repeated, exhaling shakily. "You have no idea?"

"It was many years ago," The Firelord replied.

"Well, what about her family?" I persisted. "Do you know where they live?"

"Where they live?" Ozai cried, as if the very notion was impossible. "The Firelord does not associate with the peasantry."

"You 'associated with' my mother, or is she an exception?" I snapped, furious. I spun around on my heel, and began to stride towards the door.

"Anahi!" Ozai shouted, and I stopped, staring hard at the doors. "I haven't been completely truthful with you. I didn't really call you in here to talk about Ki - your mother."

I turned around, facing him again. "Then why am I here?" I knew I was being bold, too bold, but I no longer cared.

"You can't stay here any longer."

"Good. My friends and I will leave the palace," I said bluntly.

"No, _you_ must leave the Fire Nation altogether," Ozai corrected me, a smug, cold look on his face. "Having you here is a threat to my authority. Zuko and Azula can be my only children."

My hands clenched into fists, and I felt anger boil inside of me. "And you forget that I was your child _first_!" I shouted at him. "You can't just send me away because you don't want to acknowledge that I exist! It's not my fault that you were screwing around with my mother and she got pregnant!"

Ozai looked behind me, and I saw a pair of soldiers coming, no doubt to take me away. "I'll tell them!" I said savagely. "I'll tell Zuko, and _Azula_, and the whole kingdom! They'll all know what you did!"

"Silence!" The Firelord roared, as the two soldiers grabbed me by the arms. I let them drag me back, glaring furiously at Ozai. His shoulders rippled as he struggled to keep back his anger.

"You will pay for this!" He shouted. "You cannot _threaten_ the Firelord!"

* * *

Etka knelt before the Firelord, his head pressed against the marble floor in submission, as he had been taught. His heart was leaping around in his chest, as he awaited orders.

"Captain Song Etka," The Firelord said coolly, his voice almost serpent-like. "Tell me, are you loyal to the Fire Nation?"

"Yes, My Lord," Etka said, still staying prostrated on the ground. When they had sent for him, Etka had told Naheel to escape, to get out of the Palace any way he could and to make it to the Temple, the rendezvous point. When Naheel had asked about Anahi, Etka promised him that he'd get her out of here as soon as he could. Truthfully, if things went south, this way Naheel wouldn't be a factor in leaving the palace, if the need arose.

"And are you loyal to me?" The Firelord was testing him, and Etka knew it.

"Yes, My Lord," Etka said, feeling as though he had just swallowed a bitter drink.

"Good," Came the reply, and Etka bristled, slowly raising his head but staying on his knees. "Captain Song, I need you to..._execute_ a very important mission for me."

"What is it, My Lord?"

"I need you to kill Anahi," He said, and Etka felt his blood freeze in his veins.

"H - Here, My Lord?" He managed. It felt like someone's fingers were closing around his throat. Etka bowed his head; he couldn't bear to look at him.

"No, not here," The Firelord scoffed, but he was pleased by his young captain's obedience. "I don't want the bastard's blood spilt in my home. Take her out into the jungles and do it. Leave her body there, and no one will find it."

Etka was shocked, horrified at how callous and cruel the Firelord could be to his own child. Suddenly, he felt Ozai's fingers take up his chin, lifting his head up to face the Firelord. It took everything Etka had not to recoil in disgust. "Will you do this for me, _Captain_?" He asked, and Etka realized then how utterly and completely trapped he was.

He could no longer look the Firelord in the eye. "Yes, My Lord."


	21. Chapter 20

**Wow, thank you all so so much for your support of this story! I am so surprised and touched to see all the views that this story continues to get, so thank you! **

**I do want to give a warning though that this chapter does contain some violence. Anyway, enjoy!**

* * *

I didn't sleep at all for the rest of the night. The soldiers had taken me into my own room, which was little more than a holding cell and completely dark. I had pounded on the door, begging and screaming for them to let me out. I had to find Etka and Naheel. We had to flee.

Blindly, I felt the walls around me, my mind playing over scenarios of what Ozai was going to do to me. Flood the room with fire and burn me alive...leave me to starve and rot and go insane thinking about Naheel and Etka...

I wondered where they were. Had Ozai come for them too? Were they facing a similar fate as I was?

The doors were opened and I shrank back from the sudden brightness of the light. To my surprise, I saw Etka standing before me in the doorframe, dressed in the military clothes of a soldier. "Etka?" I said weakly.

"Get up," Etka commanded, and I paused, slightly taken aback.

"Wh - what?"

"You heard me, get up!" He thundered so hard that I flinched. It was absolutely terrifying, seeing him like this, and right away, I knew something was wrong. I scrambled to my feet, standing defensively.

"What is this?" I demanded. "What is going on?"

"You're coming with me," He grabbed my arm, and before I could understand what was happening, dragged me forward and threw me out of the cell. I hit the tile floors hard, and when I raised my head, I saw soldiers standing around, all watching.

I felt disoriented, so confused that I wanted to throw up. The sinking feeling - like a lead weight in my stomach - was only worsening with the knowledge I didn't want to face.

Etka had betrayed me. He was loyal to the Fire Nation, and the Fire Nation only.

_All people of the Fire Nation are heartless and cruel_, I remembered hearing one of the elders in my tribe sa_y. They only exist to serve their country, and the Firelord. _

Etka too, I realized. He was no different than all the rest. I felt tears form in my eyes, but quickly dashed them away. I would not let him see me cry.

My heart racing, I spun around to face Etka, and threw my hands out ready to fight. I was trembling all over, and tears threatened to spill any moment.

"Where is my brother?" I asked in a low voice. I couldn't control how it wavered.

"Naheel is gone," Etka said, circling me and watching every movement I took like a hawk.

"Gone?" I demanded. "Gone where?"

Etka was quiet for a moment, and I noticed his jaw twitch. "I don't need to disclose this with you," He said sharply.

Flames appeared at my fingertips, and out of fury and frustration, I lobbed a jet of fire at him. "What have you done with my brother?" I screamed, leaping up in the air and doing a flip. Arcs of fire soared from my feet and hands and when I landed, I knocked Etka back from his stance by several steps.

His hair was coming loose from his topknot, and his eyes looked shocked, harrowed. "Anahi, stop this now," He said warningly, fire appearing at his sides.

"Where is he?" I snarled, attacking him again with another strike he evasively blocked.

Etka didn't answer me, but began to hurl jets of fire, so fast I barely had time to block myself. I scrambled around for cover and darted behind a pillar, breathing heavily. I had to find Naheel, find my brother and get out of the palace, out of this country.

"Anahi!" Etka thundered, leaping out from behind the pillar and grabbed me by the shoulders, shoving me up against it with an elbow across my chest. He hit me so hard across the face that I tasted blood in my mouth. I grabbed at Etka's chin, his hands, trying to push him off of me. I rolled over, straddling him and conjured a flame in my fist.

"Where is Naheel?" I seethed, drawing back my arm. I was about to strike him, burn him, and I had the total position to do this. "You _know!" _I screamed, and realized that my hand was shaking.

I couldn't do it. I couldn't kill him. My face crumpled and tears gave way, and I lowered my arm. After everything we had been through, I couldn't do it. Part of me was in agony from his betrayal, and the other part still loved him deeply.

"I won't hurt you," I said quietly, and for a flicker of a second I saw an expression of shock and hurt pass through Etka's eyes. And just as quickly as it had come, it was gone.

Etka shoved me off of him, and I hit the floor and stayed there, waiting for him to kill me. He stood up, looming over me, before bending down and lifting me up by the front of my robes.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Prince Zuko standing behind one of the pillars near a cluster of soldiers, his eyes huge in horror and fear. I didn't want him to see this. I didn't want my brother to watch me die.

Etka hit me so hard my head snapped back, and I collapsed, my legs no longer working. Dark clouds passed over my eyes as I collapsed to the floor, my vision fading to black.

* * *

I came to under a canopy of trees and fresh air. Soft yellow light filtered from between the leaves, and for a second, I wondered if I really had died and was in some peaceful afterlife. I tried to sit up, and was met with a splitting pain in my head so bad that my vision swam in patches of black until I laid back down against the tree.

I was definitely not dead. Barely alive, but not dead.

"Anahi?" I whipped my head over to the sound of my name, and when the fog disappeared from my sight, I saw Etka, kneeling down beside me and pressing a cool, wet cloth against my forehead.

I screamed, every memory of what had happened in the palace flooding back to me. I tried to conjure fire, but I was so weak and my head felt like someone and split it open with an axe. I was practically defenseless.

"It's okay, it's okay," He held up his hands in surrender, trying to show me he wasn't a threat. I didn't believe him. "Anahi, I'm not going to hurt you."

"You bastard!" I cried, throwing myself on him and hitting him, my weakened arms and dulled perception executing blows that barely hurt him. "How could you?" I cried, tears rolling down my face now. I slapped Etka across the face, as hard as I could, and he sat silently and took it, gently holding me up in his arms. I was crying hard now, and I collapsed against him, loathing myself for it. "Why?" I moaned, my tears running onto his robes, and gingerly, cautiously, Etka put his arms around me.

"Don't touch me," I snapped, pushing myself away from him, and he didn't resist. "How dare you..."

"The Firelord called me in after he saw you," Etka said quietly, and I stared at the ground, kneading my hands together. I couldn't look at him anymore. "And he asked me to kill you. He said exactly what I'd feared he'd say: that you were a threat to his power, to his throne, and that you could no longer exist. If I had defied him, he would have killed all of us."

"Where is my brother?" I demanded, my voice heavy.

"I snuck him out," Etka replied, and I raised my head and stopped crying. "Naheel is at the Temple, the rendezvous point."

I looked over at him in surprise and shock. If Etka was being truthful...if he had saved Naheel...

"The Firelord still thinks that I'm loyal to him," Etka was pleading with me now. "If he thinks that you're dead, Naheel's out of the picture, and I'm still loyal, then it would be perfect conditions for us all to escape. We could go to the Earth Kingdom, or the Water Tribe again, and he wouldn't hunt us down. It would mean safety, freedom..."

"How do I know you're not lying to me?" I muttered, turning away. "How do I know you didn't do to Naheel what you did to me? How do I know he's not _dead?"_

"Anahi, if I wanted to kill you, I would have done it a long time ago," Etka said sharply, then quickly backed off, realizing what he had said. "I wouldn't have brought you all the way out here alive. I'm going to sneak you into the Temple, and you can see Naheel for yourself."

I stared at him, unbelieving. I couldn't truly process what was happening to me right now. Etka had tried to kill me - to save my life.

"I hated myself the entire time," He said, his voice full of remorse. He kept trying to meet my eyes. "Anahi, I _loathed_ myself. I promised Naheel that I would always protect you, that I would never hurt you..." Etka paused, and I saw him run a flat hand over his eyes, his mouth.

"I can't ask you to forgive what I've done," Etka said, standing up and holding out his hand. Inside it were two small little green pills, tightly compacted. "But please try to understand why I had to do it."

"What's this?" I asked, taking the pills from his hand.

"Take them for the pain," He said gently, and I swallowed them both dry.

I stared pointedly at my hands, my emotions rolling and crashing over me like the waves at the beach. The bruises marring my skin hurt more than ever, but Etka had saved my life. He had risked everything so that would live, so that I could be safe with my brother.

"Etka," I said flatly, slowly understanding. He turned around, looking down at me with pained eyes. Carefully, he knelt before me and helped me stand up, and I leaned heavily on his arms.

"I love you," He murmured, his voice slightly trembling. "And I did this all for you. Anahi - "

I cut him off, taking his face in my hands and kissing him hard, holding onto him tightly. Etka felt tense at first, surprised that I would be embracing him this way, then gradually relaxed, kissing me in return. "I know," I murmured softly, solemnly, still keeping his face in my hands after I broke the kiss.

"I'll take you to the Temple," Etka promised, helping me onto the back of his ostrich horse before climbing on himself. "I'll have to leave right away, but I'll come for you and Naheel when the time is right."

I held onto him close as we began to ride forward through the tiny dirt path through the deep jungle, and wondered how Etka could have known his way. Today was just too much to handle, and while the pills Etka gave me seemed to be working, they made it harder to resist the pull of unconsciousness and I found myself falling asleep against his back for the remainder of our journey.


	22. Chapter 21

**So I'm kind of unsure how to end this. Actually, I should have phrased that better. I'm not sure if I should split the story into two parts (I.e. Have a sequel) or continue it on as one story. Would you guys read a sequel story if I did decide to do one? Or should I keep going on one story (it would be longer)? Let me know!**

* * *

I awoke to Etka pulling a dark cloak over my head, and lifting me off and to the ground. We were standing beside the temple, looming massive over us, protecting us. Several women clad in stark white robes stood by the temple entrance, watching over us.

"Who are they?" I asked wearily, as he carried me towards the gates of the Temple.

"They're the Sisters who guard the Temple's sacred grounds," Etka explained softly, and as we drew closer, I saw that each woman had her lower eyelid rimmed in a thick black paint and a dark shadow along the upper lid. Their faces were framed by long white headscarves with a gold trim that covered their hair and gave an ominous, ethereal look. They all carried long swords, although Etka assured me that most were Firebenders. "They're here to protect the refugees inside the Temple's walls. You and Naheel will be safe here."

"Anahi!" I heard my name called, and a bolt of pain went through my head at the loud noise and heavy footsteps that followed. Naheel came running up to us as Etka paused before the Temple's doors.

"Etka..." He paused, seeing my face. Etka passed me over to my brother, who held me as if I were made of glass. I was too tired to chide him over it. "What happened?"

"Anahi will tell you," Etka said morosely. "I have to go back to the palace for now. I'll return for you both as soon as I can, and then we'll leave the country."

Etka turned to leave, but I reached out quickly enough and grabbed his hand. "Stay here, with us," I told him. "Hide here until this blows over and we can leave safely."

He looked at me like he truly wanted too, but shook his head. "I can't risk that, not now," He said gently. "I'll come back as soon as I can. I promise." He squeezed my hand tightly and turned away, walking slowly and with his head bent back to his mount.

"Come on," Naheel said quietly, turning around with me in his arms before Etka rode away from the Temple. I rested my head against my brother's chest, as he carried me inside the Temple walls. "Let's get you cleaned up."

He brought me through the quiet, peaceful halls, and around us, I saw several other refugees watching us with tired, hollow gazes. "Are you alright?" I asked, looking up at my brother. Naheel looked like he hadn't slept at all.

"I should be asking you that," He told me with a grimace, before stopping at one of the rooms and laying me down on a soft, white-sheeted bed. "Anahi, you look terrible."

"You're not so bad yourself," I chuckled drily, noticing one of the Sisters enter the room.

"Is there anything you need?" She asked, her voice surprisingly airy and light. She looked so noble with her sword at her hilt and dark kohl around her eyes. I was in awe of her grace and regality.

"I think my sister has a concussion," Naheel said, as the Sister knelt down at my bedside, looking at me carefully.

"My name is Kateri," She told me, speaking softly as to not disturb the others in the room. "What happened to you?" Kateri looked over into my eyes. I struggled to focus on her face.

"I was knocked unconscious," I said slowly, carefully choosing my words.

"From a blow to the head?" She asked, her eyes falling to the large bruise across my mouth. She reached out and touched my purpled skin, her fingers so light that I barely felt them.

"Yeah," I replied, remembering how frightening Etka had looked then, how full of anger his eyes had been.

Kateri turned to Naheel, lowering her voice so she thought I couldn't hear her. "Her pupils are extremely dilated," She explained. "And she's slurring her words. Your sister needs to rest now, as much as she can."

"Is there anything that she should take?" Naheel asked. "Anything I can do?"

"Let her sleep, but wake her up every few hours," Kateri explained, standing up. My brother stood up alongside her. "Be sure that what she's saying is coherent, and check to make sure she doesn't have a fever. I'll be back to check in on you both and bring some medicine for her pain."

"Thank you," Naheel said, and I saw the way that he looked at her, the nervous, almost dreamy way he smiled at her. Etka had looked at me like that.

He watched her go before kneeling beside me again, taking my hand in his. "Anahi," He murmured, his voice full of sadness. "How did this happen? Who did this to you?"

"A Fire Nation soldier," I said quietly. I couldn't bring myself to tell Naheel that Etka had done this to me. If I did, there was nothing I could do to prevent my brother from killing Etka on the spot.

Naheel carefully took me up in his arms, holding my head like a small child against his chest. "Anahi," He murmured, his face crumpling. "Anahi, I never dreamed of seeing you like this."

"It's not your fault," I murmured.

"You're so hurt..." He protested, looking down at me almost paternally. "Anahi...whoever did this to you...I'll make them pay. They won't live to tell about it."

Naheel's face had grown dark, his voice low and frightening. His voice had stopped shaking with emotion and taken over an eerie, commanding tone I had never seen from him before. "Naheel," I said worriedly, looking up at my brother. "You're scaring me."

My brother laid me down back on the pillows and sheets. "Stay here and rest," He said quietly.

"Naheel, stop!" I called after him. I could see how angry he was, and I was afraid of what my brother might do. I was always the impulsive, emotional one, not he. My brother turned around, his face clouded in anger and hurt. I realized I had no words, nothing I could do to make him stay.

"Stay here and rest," He said again, before leaving out the door. "I'll be back with something to eat and drink."

* * *

Naheel paced the halls of the Temple, his anger stewing in the crucible of his heart. He had never seen Anahi as worse as she looked before. Spots of purple and black decorated her skin, war medals that attested to the battle she had endured. Seeing his bright, outgoing sister so beaten and weak broke his heart.

And whoever did this to her, Naheel would be certain that they paid dearly. He would destroy every Fire Nation soldier he saw.

He found himself out in a courtyard, surrounded by the high walls of the Temple. A statue of one of the Avatars had been built on one end. The Avatar was seated with her legs crossed, and dressed in the same white clothes that the Sisters wore - long white robes and a white veil that covered her hair. The Avatar seemed to be looking down directly at Naheel, and her expression alone stopped him in his tracks.

She seemed...different than anyone that Naheel had seen in the Fire Nation. She didn't look arrogant, or blood thirsty, or cruel, and she wasn't even wearing the customary red. That had been hard for Naheel, seeing his sister in the clothes of the enemy, but here, even in the heart of the Fire Nation, this Avatar seemed separate.

"That's Avatar Kosumi." Naheel jumped when he heard a female voice behind him, and to his surprise, Kateri stood there, watching him with a bemused expression. "She was the founder of this Temple, and of the Sisters here, hundreds of years ago."

"Why is she dressed in white?" Naheel asked, finding his anger quickly dissipating. "Everyone else in the Fire Nation wears red."

Kateri stepped forward, and to Naheel's surprise, took a seat before the Avatar's statue, folding her legs neatly before her. Awkwardly, Naheel scrambled to follow, and sat beside her. "Avatar Kosumi's life was marked by loss. In her time, the Fire Nation was engaged in frequent skirmishes with the Earth Kingdom, and during one of the attacks, Kosumi found herself at a crossroads. The Earth Kingdom army was advancing towards the city from three sides - the East, West, and South. The army was prepared to bomb out the harbor, thus destroying the Fire Nation's Navy and leaving the city greatly weakened. Kosumi's family and friends were all along the West side, but in order to save the city, she had to defend the harbor and wipe out the main fleet."

Kateri paused, bowing her head and looking down. "She had a duty to save the city, but she also had a duty to save her loved ones. Kosumi made a sacrifice, and saved the whole city - the whole country."

"But she lost everyone she loved," Naheel said quietly, and Kateri looked over at him, nodding solemnly.

"That's why Avatar Kosumi is always depicted wearing white - the color of mourning," Kateri said. "And that's why the Sisters were white and cover their hair - to show our sacrifice of our loved ones in order to protect the weak."

"You've given up your family to be here?" Naheel asked softly. "All your friends?"

"When we join, we aren't allowed contact with them anymore," Kateri said. "Our duty becomes to protect the sick, the weak, those who cannot protect themselves."

Naheel thought of his sister, and the strength that she had. Certainly, Anahi was capable of protecting herself, and Etka was as well. He was painfully reminded how hurt, how defenseless Anahi really was.

"I can see that I've upset you." Kateri laid her hand over Naheel's, and the latter felt his heart take a desperate leap from his chest. "I didn't mean to suggest that your sister couldn't protect herself. I can see the strength that she possesses. She will overcome this. She will be strong again."

Naheel stared at her in a melange of surprise and content. It was as if Kateri had looked right through him.

* * *

Etka felt like a criminal as he walked through the halls of the Palace, escorted by four soldiers on either side. And in their eyes, he was, but he kept trying to reassure himself that things would be fine. He had done the right thing by saving Anahi. Of that he was certain.

Etka closed his eyes and saw Anahi's fearful face, dazed and uncomprehending as he betrayed her. His hands shook at the memory, and part of Etka didn't believe that those same hands were the ones that hit and hurt her. He swore he would never be that man again. That necessary evil would never be repeated.

Etka was brought into the throne room, and to his surprise, he saw Azula standing beside her father, a smirk on her face. Immediately, Etka felt his heart sink, and he was ready to be sick. Why on Earth was the Princess here? He approached the throne and bowed as low as possible, wishing that he could sink into the floor.

"Captain Song," Ozai said, adopting his familiar cool, snake-like voice. Etka felt sweat prickle on the back of his neck. "Have you done as I have asked?"

Etka looked up, feeling as though all the air had been sucked from the room. "Yes, My Lord."

Azula head whipped to the side, and turned eagerly to her father, her eyes lighting up, but Ozai's eyes stayed locked on Etka. "You've killed Anahi?"

"Y - Yes, My Lord."

"Are you telling me the truth?"

Etka knew it was over then. Somehow, some way...Ozai knew that Etka had let her go. Oddly, he no longer felt afraid. Instead, a strange peace filled Etka, knowing that his life had just dissolved around him. Ozai would spare him no mercy for what he had done.

Etka stood up, facing Ozai head on. "No," He said firmly, staring down the Firelord. "I let her live. I _saved_ her. And Anahi is safe, and far away, and no matter what you do to me, you will _never_ get to her!"

Ozai's cool face disappeared into that of anger at Etka's open and blatant defiance of him. "Arrest him," He commanded, and Etka didn't resist as soldiers came to him from behind and wrenched his hands behind his back, forcing them into chains. "Throw him into prison, and do with him what you will."

Ozai stood up as Etka was forced to his knees again. "You will pay dearly for what you've done," He said icily. "And I will find Anahi, even if I have to burn down the whole kingdom. She will watch you die, and then I'll put her down _myself."_


	23. Chapter 22

Naheel was dutiful and came and sat with me for most of the day. I had spent one night already at the Temple, but had barely slept. Where was Etka now? Was he still under the guise of loyalty to Ozai?

When I did sleep, I had fevered dreams of Etka's assault. I saw him chasing me through the jungle, his golden eyes fiery with anger and hatred. I saw him attacking me, hitting me so hard I felt my bones break under his hands. And as I lay dying on the forest floor, I would watch, helpless, as soldiers took him away, struggling and fighting with him to drag him off to his death. I would awake in a fevered sweat, my heart racing, and glance frantically around for soldiers bursting in through the door, still under the shroud of my nightmares.

Naheel, who had spent the night beside me on the floor would always awaken when I did, and when a sleepless dawn approached us, he told me that I kept saying Etka's name over and over again.

"What did you dream of?" Naheel asked me over breakfast. Judging by the bags underneath his eyes, I knew that he hadn't slept much either.

I didn't want to tell him about Etka attacking me, Etka hurting me. I knew he did it because he had to, but that didn't mean the bruises hurt any less. It even pained me to chew my food. Naheel would never forgive Etka for what he had done, and I wasn't sure if I did either. Not yet.

"The Firelord," I lied, keeping a low voice. "I know he doesn't know where I am, but I'm still afraid that he'll find us here."

Naheel seemed satisfied with my answer, and exhaled through his nose. "We'll find a way out of this," He said purposefully. "Once Etka comes back for us, we'll get out of the city. And we're safe here. The Sisters are prepared in case of attack."

"And what if Etka doesn't come back?" I whispered, my voice low and fearful. This wasn't a lie. Part of my heart was aching from what Etka had done, but the dominant side still loved him desperately "What if they found out somehow? It's been two days now, Naheel. Something's wrong."

My brother picked up his bowl, and took my empty one up with it. "Come with me," He said, hushed. Naheel helped me to my feet and put our dishes away before leaving the large dining hall, filled with refugees and Sisters alike. No one seemed to even notice we had left, even though there were no rules about coming and going.

"I was on my own for several months after you had left home," Naheel explained, his voice rapid and excited. "And while I learned how to Waterbend more, I met an old woman who taught me how to use my ability for healing too." We entered a large courtyard, one of many in the Temple, and before us was carved a large statute of a past female Avatar from wood. The courtyard was vacant except for us, and Naheel and I sat down beside the edge of a pond full of lazily swimming fish.

I caught my reflection in the water, and stifled a gasp. I looked even worse than I felt. One eye was blackened while the same side of my cheek was scratched a bright red. One side of my mouth was still swollen, and I looked haggard, sick.

Naheel reached for my hand, and I forced myself to turn away. "I want to try and heal you," He explained. "Or at least take away some of the pain." I watched as he dipped two fingers into the pool, mesmerized as the water crawled up his fingers and around his hand, covering his skin with a rippling, waving blue.

My brother looked up at me, and I saw the determination in his eyes. "Ready?"

I nodded, and Naheel gently pressed his hand against my face, covering the entire side of my face with his long fingers. Instantly, I felt a gentle, cooling sensation ease over my skin, and the pain disappeared. I sighed in relief, tears of joy coming to my eyes. "Is it working?" He asked excitedly.

"It doesn't hurt at all," I sighed contentedly. "My face...I don't feel any more pain. Naheel, this is wonderful!" Tears came to my eyes, and my brother and I laughed together, tears rolling slowly down my cheeks. I realized how long it seemed that I had done so, especially with him.

We both heard a footstep from inside the courtyard, and immediately, Naheel took his hand away, getting up in defense. Before us stood one of the Sisters, who held her hands up in peace. I recognized her earlier as the one who had came to me when I had first arrived - Kateri.

"What did you see?" Naheel demanded.

"You can Waterbend?" Kateri asked in disbelief. She walked slowly towards us, her hands raised. She looked at Naheel in disbelief.

Naheel swallowed, and I saw him debating on whether or not to deny it, to tell her she was crazy and had imagined it. "I - I'm not going to tell anyone," Kateri said, placatingly. "I just...are you?"

I looked up at Naheel in worry. It was his secret to tell, his past to guard. "This is a safe haven, correct?" He asked Kateri, who nodded. "For anyone, regardless of nationality?"

"The Temple and the Sisters will guard and protect _everyone_," Kateri explained carefully. "You are still safe here."

Naheel's shoulders relaxed, and he sighed, casting me a look. "Are you alone?" I asked Kateri, holding my hand gingerly over my face. The swelling had gone down, but my skin still hurt when I touched it.

"Yes," She said, casting her eyes around her to be certain. "I saw you both leave and I...I just - " Kateri fussed with her headscarf, looking uncomfortable.

"Why did you follow us?" I demanded, lowering my hand from my face. Kateri's eyes widened, and her mouth fell open.

"Your bruises," She gasped. "They're almost completely gone."

"Answer her," Naheel cut her off abruptly. "Why did you follow us here?"

Kateri's face flushed, and she looked briefly at the ground to collect herself. "Well, I wanted to follow Naheel," She said, looking uncomfortable. I glanced up at my brother and saw his cheeks glow slightly pink. I couldn't help but stifle a smile. "I had had my suspicions for a while that he was from the Water Tribe. You, Anahi, are from the Fire Nation, correct?"

I didn't really know how to answer that. My parents were. But I was raised in the Southern Water Tribe, that was where I had identified from.

But no member of the Water Tribe looked like me. No member of the Water Tribe was a Firebender.

"Yes," I said quietly.

"Then how can Naheel be your brother?" Kateri insisted. "Forgive me, but you look nothing alike."

"You can be related by more than just blood," Naheel said firmly. "It is true, I'm from the Water Tribe. We don't have the same birth parents, but Anahi is my sister."

Kateri visibly relaxed, knowing that her suspicions had been true. "Naheel, what you possess is a gift," She told him, stepping closer to the both of us. "Think of all the people that you can help with what you can do. All of the injured, the sick - "

"No one can know," Naheel said darkly, staring at Kateri intently. "No one else can find out who I am, or who my sister is. We have to remain anonymous."

Kateri began to walk towards us, and my brother stiffened, surprised. She continued past my brother and sat down beside me, taking my hands in hers. "How can I help you?" She asked earnestly. "Both of you have been through so much; I can tell. What can I do for you?"

"We don't need - " Naheel began, but I cut him off.

"You _can_ help," I said, an idea striking me, looking up at Naheel. "She _can_ help. She can leave the Temple - we can't." Naheel sighed and looked down at Kateri.

"It's asking a lot of you," He said gravely. "I don't know..."

"There's a man I need to find," I told her. "His name is Song Etka, and he's at the Fire Nation Palace. I just need to know that he's alright. He said he would come for us, but it's been two days now and..." I paused, my voice trailing off. "If you could find anything about him, anything at all - "

Kateri's eager expression had faded when I had mentioned the Royal Palace. "I know it's asking a lot," I said softly. "But if I step outside the Temple, I'll be seen put to death on the spot."

Kateri looked at me hard, her lips pulled into a frown. Naheel and I held our breath. "If you tell me your story, I'll help you," She conceded, and my face lit up.

"Really?" I cried, but Naheel butt in.

"I thought that the Sisters weren't supposed to ask questions like this," He frowned. "I thought the refugees here were to remain anonymous."

"And you still shall remain anonymous," Kateri replied with a coy smile. "The Sisters aren't supposed to conduct secret espionage acts for said refugees either, but since we're both breaking rules here, I think it evens out."

I laughed, surprised at her boldness, and decided that I liked Kateri, regardless of Naheel's reservations. My brother looked flustered, caught between a well thought-out comment and making a half-attempted retort.

"What I'm about to tell you is hard to believe," I murmured, my hands closing around Ozai's dagger against my chest and pulling it out. I prayed that I wasn't making a mistake. "But the Firelord doesn't only have two children. There is another child."

I began to tell her the whole story, starting from the beginning when I had discovered my ability and run away from home. I spoke slowly, trying to read Kateri's face, which was a placid mask as I told her my story. I ended with my confrontation with Ozai, and fudged over the details of how I had escaped and how Etka had brought me here. After I was finished, Kateri was silent for a long time, and I allowed her to process.

She stood, her hand resting over the hilt of her sword. "Anahi, you and I will change clothing," She said determinedly. "If they see a Sister trying to get into the Palace, it will attract attention right away."

"You'll go?" I asked, getting up excitedly.

"Yes," Kateri said, glancing over at Naheel. "I'll find out what I can."

Kateri stepped out of Kosumi Temple without her traditional robes for the first time in twelve years. She felt so strange, so vulnerable, with Anahi's loose, open robes. Bared arms and an uncovered head felt so strange to her, and Kateri felt on edge, naked even. She ran a hand through her hair nervously, and her hand found the small knife she had hidden under Anahi's robes. It wasn't necessary, but having the knife with her still made her feel safe. It was a last resort, if all else failed.

Kateri walked with fast-paced, determined steps. She wasn't happy about what she was going to do, and certainly not pleased with herself, but she reminded herself that she was doing it to help a person in need, and possibly two, if she could find Etka.

As she approached the outer walls of the palace, she spotted her target, a lone soldier standing guard at his post. This was a quiet part of town, and few people were out and about. If any of the other Sisters found out about this, Kateri knew that she would be in deep trouble. But if anyone was going to defy the Firelord's regime like this, if anyone had even remotely a chance, it was the Sister's of the Kosumi Temple.

"Hey there," Kateri called flirtatiously, unaccustomed to flirting with men in this way. There weren't that many people milling around this part of town, and this soldier surely wouldn't go amiss.

The soldier straightened up, regarding her comment, and Kateri moved closer, adopting a coy, reserved smile and swaying her hips just so. The soldier cleared his throat, and straightened his stance, looking straight ahead.

Kateri's fingertips crackled, and she moved closer, sidling up right in front of him. The soldier eyed her in apprehension, looking as though he were debating to push her off of him or not. Kateri dropped her voice, her flirtatious gaze now threatening. "You will go behind that building there, and you will take off your uniform and give it to me. You will not cry out, you will not fight, and you will not make a scene. Am I clear?"

Clear blue lightning sparked from her fingertips, darting dangerously close to the soldier's face. His eyes widened, reflecting the the electric blue in his dark irises, and the soldier cleared his throat. "Fine," He said in a low voice, moving towards the building. Kateri watched him like a hawk, keeping her hand against his back. If he tried anything, she could take him down in an instant.

Kateri looked around furtively, nervous that someone would spot them. The soldier stopped behind the house, and before he had a chance to move further, Kateri sent a bolt of lightning thundering towards the back of his head, knocking him out cold onto the ground.

It had almost been too easy. Kateri hurriedly raced to change into the uniform, pulling the armor over Anahi's clothes. It was stifling hot, and once again, Kateri was hit with doubts as she tucked her hair underneath the helmet and slid the face mask over her eyes. The uniform was a bit too big, but it would suffice.

Kateri felt a slight bit of guilt at leaving this soldier like this, and picked him up, moving him further into the shade and out of sight. She figured that she had at least an hour before he woke up and she needed to flee.

Etka was breathing heavily, tasting blood on his tongue that ran from his nose and showed no signs of stopping. They had taken away his bending; some strange woman had struck him with a knifed hand and left him crippled, weak, and barely able to even walk. He had heard someone call her a chi blocker, and Etka was afraid that this would last forever.

His bending ability wasn't the focus here though. The soldiers in charge of his beating only cared about one thing: where Anahi was hiding.

It had been Azula who had betrayed him. She had followed him with a team of men from the palace and seen him with Anahi. Apparently, they had left before Etka had taken her to the Temple, because since his return, he had been subject to ruthless interrogation as to her whereabouts. He figured that he could be content with this. As long as Anahi was safe, hidden away, he could try to forgive himself for what he had done to her.

The soldiers here knew how guilty Etka felt for assaulting Anahi, and this played into how they tortured him. "She loathes you for what you've done to her," They'd leer at him, in between beatings, playing on the fears that resounded so painfully within his heart. "She hates you. She'll never love you again after what you've done to her."

Etka was strong, but not strong enough. He told himself that these were all lies. Anahi had kissed him hadn't she? After he had told her he couldn't forgive himself, that he was sorry, and that he loved her, she had kissed him, right? Kissed him, but never told him she loved him back.

Etka was starting to believe that. Someone who had done what he had didn't deserve to be loved.

Kateri's heart was racing as she moved through the halls of the palace, feeling ready to be sick at any moment. This was a terrible decision, and especially going alone. She felt that she stood out amongst everyone else, her movements merely poor imitations of what the soldiers did. It was only a matter of time before she was caught.

Kateri passed two soldiers, who were speaking in low voices, and she paused, slowing down to listen. Making it look like she had paused to survey the courtyard made it easy to overhear their conversation.

"If he doesn't squeal, they _will_ kill him," A soldier said in a low voice. Instantly, Kateri's heart quickened. They could only be talking about Etka...

"He's not talking though," The other added, sounding slightly worried. "If they kill him before he's said anything, the Firelord will be furious. And then we'll have no where to go from to find the girl."

"Etka will tell us," The first said with an air of cockiness. Kateri felt sick. "In two days time they're going to publicly beat him, they'll take away his Captainship. If he doesn't tell us where Anahi is, he'll be put to death."

Kateri had heard enough. She tried not to run out of the palace, and back to the safety of the temple, burning the Fire Nation uniform in her wake. This changed everything, and Kateri realized that she was now a part of something she wasn't sure she wanted to be.


	24. Chapter 23

When Kateri returned to the Temple, her face was so deathly pale and she was shaking so badly that I thought she had been attacked. I stood up quickly, catching her into my arms, and Kateri finally stopped moving.

"What is it?" I asked, my heart plummeting. This could only mean bad news.

"I got into the Palace," She said, her voice shaking. "And I overheard two soldier's talking. They're going to publicly execute him in two days time."

I felt as though she had struck me in the head, and released her, dazed. "Oh God," I moaned. Naheel came up behind me, taking me by the shoulders comfortingly. "Naheel," I turned to him and he took me consolingly into his arms. I was tempted to lose myself in them, to allow myself his comfort, but I pulled away. I couldn't do that, not now.

"I have to go rescue him," I said fixedly. "I have to go save him."

Naheel and Kateri exchanged a look. I grabbed my brother's shirt forcibly. "They're going to kill him," I said passionately. "Naheel, he saved my life. I have to save his."

"Did you actually see him?" Naheel turned to Kateri, who had taken a seat. I went beside her, forcing myself to calm down, and took off her headscarf and handed it to her. Quickly, she took it and wound it around her head again, covering her hair with shaking fingers.

"No," She said, and I wasn't sure whether or not to be more anxious or relieved. "But I overheard soldiers speaking about him. They said they've been..." Kateri stopped, and I worried that she was censoring what she was about to say.

"What have they done to him?" I demanded, afraid of what I would hear.

"They've been torturing him," She said quietly. "They've been trying to use him to find out where you are, but he hasn't said anything. He hasn't betrayed you, Anahi."

I closed my eyes, envisioning the hell that he was undergoing to protect me. Etka was all alone, probably frightened and cold, and knowing that he would probably die soon.

It was at that moment that I truly forgave him. If Etka didn't love me, he wouldn't suffer like this so that I could live. I hadn't told him I loved him back when we had kissed in the woods, and now I wondered if I would get the chance to ever say those words again. He had done what he had to to save me from my father, and was going to pay the ultimate price.

"If the situation was reversed, Etka would come to rescue me," I told Naheel. "I have to save him."

My brother looked conflicted, and it showed. "Anahi," He said, choosing his words carefully. "Have you wondered why Etka's execution is going to be public?"

"What do you mean?" I cast a glance at Kateri, who met my brother's eyes.

"The Firelord wants you dead," Naheel explained slowly. "And he has Etka prisoner. He might be using Etka as bait to get you to show up, and then he'll take you out."

I paused, swallowing a retort. Naheel's idea made perfect sense, and if he was right, then Ozai knew exactly how to get me to come. "I'll go in disguise then..." I tried, but Naheel cut me off, angry.

"And get him out how!?" He snapped. "Anahi, don't you realize that this is exactly what Ozai wants you to do?"

"It's incredibly dangerous," Kateri added reluctantly. "A rescue mission in broad daylight with hundreds of people watching... And if Naheel is right, then that's the perfect way for the Firelord to take you out."

"Etka needs me!" I cried, frustrated that they weren't understanding. "Don't you understand? I know he would do the same for me if I were in his place - "

"Anahi, to go in there would be suicide!" Naheel shouted, and I saw tears welling up in his eyes. "Ozai will kill you, and then both you and Etka and I will all be dead - "

"Who said that you had to die?" I asked, suddenly quiet, feeling ready to cry as well. I understood where my brother was coming from then. He was terrified of losing me again.

Naheel gave an bitter smile. "Did you think that I would let you go in there alone?" He asked, and I turned away from him, unwilling for neither him nor Kateri to see me cry.

"I don't want you to come," I said softly, trying to hold back my tears. "I want you to stay in the Temple where you can be safe."

"I am not letting you go there alone," Naheel said forcibly. "I don't even want you to go in the first place, but - "

"I'm going wether you want me too or not!" I spun around and glared at him pointedly. "Etka would do the same for me, and he's going to sacrifice his life to protect me. I need to save him. You will stay here, and wait until I come back for you with him."

* * *

Naheel opened his mouth to argue, and I cut him off again. "I don't want to hear it!" I snapped at him, glaring angrily. "I'm going to stop the execution. You can't stop me."

Naheel made a move as if to charge after Anahi, but Kateri stood up and blocked his path, laying out a hand to stop him. "Let her blow off some steam," Kateri said placatingly. "She's not going to leave the Temple now."

"How could she have said that?" Naheel cried exasperatedly, throwing his arms up in the air. "She can't just storm off to rescue him and expect me to sit idly by!"

"You were telling her what she could and could not do," Kateri said carefully, lowering her hands. "Anahi retaliated accordingly."

Naheel sighed, his shoulders slumping. "You're right, I just - "

"You want to protect her, and she wants to protect you," Kateri explained. "Anahi is going to go to the execution, no matter what you tell her, Naheel."

"Do you think that it's a good idea for her to go?" Naheel asked her, willing for Kateri to agree with him. "If she goes to save Etka, she'll practically be sticking her neck out for Ozai to kill her."

"If you truly love someone," Kateri said pensively. "Then I think nothing would be too much to ask if it meant protecting their lives. I think that Anahi understands the risk of saving Etka, Naheel. You can either be behind her or not."

Naheel sighed, running a hand down his face. Today had been too much to handle. "I just don't want to lose her," He said weakly, inhaling sharply. "I don't want her to die."

Kateri laid a hand on his arm, and Naheel looked up at her in surprise. "Tell her that you're here for her," She said gently, and her voice alone made Naheel believe that she would take care of everything, that if she only spoke the words, then no harm would come to them. "Tell her that you love her, and you support her. We will go together to rescue Etka."

"We?" Naheel repeated. "Kateri, surely you don't mean - "

"You'll need as many people on your side as you can get," She said resolutely. "I am now with you and for you."

* * *

I barely slept the night before Etka's execution. I had spent most of my time by the Avatar Kosumi's statue, meditating and practicing my bending. I had to save Etka, but there was a part of me that called me to the execution for another reason.

Things were unsettled between my father and I. If the Firelord was there, I knew that I had to face him. I had to confront my past, and if I didn't, I didn't know how I could move on.

I had stopped preparing for the day and was spending my evening in the courtyard, meditating. I looked up at the statue of Avatar Kosumi, and was met by her solemn, piercing gaze looking down at me. It was an eerie, but at the same time comforting feeling that settled over me. "Help me to save Etka," I breathed. "And if I can, let me kill Ozai."

I had to save Etka. If I lost him tomorrow, I couldn't live with myself, not after what he had done for me.

Naheel had come to me and apologized for what had happened earlier in the courtyard. He told me that he only cared that I was going to be alright, and I told him that I wanted the same thing. We hugged for a long time, and Naheel told me that he and Kateri were coming with me to help save Etka. This time, I didn't protest.

Kateri and Naheel brought me food, urging me to eat and rest, but whenever I tried to sleep, I envisioned Etka's death. I saw him die a thousand times, each time more brutal than the last. I let my anger, and my passion drive me forward, and when the morning of the execution actually came, I was running on my fear and strong cups of tea.

None of us spoke as we prepared to go into town. Kateri found me a set of robes that the Kosumi Sisters wore, and I disguised myself as one of them. Naheel donned a dark cloak and put the hood up, and the three of us slipped easily into the crowds that had begun to congregate the streets.

My heart was pounding the entire time, and I was ready to be sick. Kateri led the way to the square, where she told us that all public punishments and executions took place in the Capitol city. I was afraid of what I would find already, but before we could even reach it, a crowd hundreds strong had congregated around the site, and there was no possible way that the three of us could get in.

"What do we do?" Naheel turned to Kateri, who looked around in worry.

"The rooftops," She said determinedly. "We'll have an advantage point if we attack from the rooftops." Naheel and I followed her, scaling the low-rising buildings without much difficulty and following her towards the center of the square. We kept our heads low, keeping along the side of the rooftop opposite the square so we weren't seen. As we climbed up to higher levels, a horrifying sight began to unfold before me.

A fleet of officers surrounded a platform, watching a man kneeling with his hands bound above his head. He was naked from the waist up and his head was bent, his long hair shorn off. His bare back was arched under the weight of his body, as if he could barely hold up his own weight anymore. His skin was red with blood, for angry strikes from the whip had split open his skin and let his blood run onto the ground.

"Etka..." I breathed, a knot forming in my throat. They were shaming him, humiliating him, in front of the entire city. I turned to Naheel and Kateri, who looked as equally shaken as I was.

"I-I didn't realize..." Kateri stammered. "I thought they would have respected his rank."

"They're whipping him like a slave," Naheel said darkly. "They've already stripped him of his Captainship, and now they're stripping him of his dignity too."

A soldier stood behind him, holding a bull whip in his hands. He stepped back, then forward again, raising the whip and slicing it downwards in a savage motion. The brunt of the lash struck Etka's back, and he shuddered against the blow, groaning under his teeth. The square was eerily quiet, except for the sounds of Etka's suffering and I remembered what Etka had told me about showing pain before my Agni Kai with Lucan. I couldn't imagine the pain that he was suffering now.

Because of me. This was all because of me.

"Do you want us to stop?" Another soldier was up with them, and grabbed Etka's face roughly by the chin. I was too far away to see Etka's expression. "Is this too much for you?"

Etka said nothing, and I doubted that he was even strong enough to speak. I moved closer to Naheel and Kateri.

"Tell us where Anahi is," He laid down the bait, ready to trap him. Chills ran over my skin, but I felt something else, something other than fear. "Tell us where she is hiding and this will all be over. Your suffering will end."

"Take Etka to the Temple," I told Naheel. "Don't stop for me, not even he begs you too. Kateri, will you cover him?" I asked her, and she nodded fiercely. I could feel the blood beginning to pound through my veins.

"What about you?" He asked, his face falling. We both knew that we might never see each other again.

"I'll fight them off," I said. "When I go down, wait until I start my attack before getting Etka. They'll be more focused on me."

We all exchanged sober, solemn looks, and it was Kateri who reached out, pulling us all into a tight embrace. I struggled to hold back tears.

"No matter what happens," I told them. "Don't come back for me. Get Etka out of here, and make sure he's safe. I'll find you at the Temple."

"Alright," Kateri nodded, reaching out and touching my shoulder. "You are so brave."

"Thank you for all that you've done for us," I said earnestly. "I will never forget it."

I was interrupted by the sound of the whip breaking over Etka's back, and I knew that we didn't have much time. My eyes went to Naheel, and I looked at my brother for what could possibly be the last time. "I love you," I said.

"I love you too," He returned sadly, and I turned back to Etka, slowing beginning to scale the top of the roof.

"Tell us!" The flogger roared, striking him again, and Etka arched his back, his head flying upwards.

"Never!" He exclaimed, and I got to my feet.

"Enough!" I roared, standing up on the peak of the roof. The officers all turned to look at me in various stages of alarm and surprise, and the soldier whipping Etka flinched in surprise, turning to see who I was.

I slid down the roof, using my bending to land safely on the ground, like a cat. I slowly rose, my headscarf loose and fluttering in the breeze. "It's not him you want," I said loudly, for all to hear. "It's me. Let him go."

Etka wearily raised his head again at the sound of my voice. When the soldier whipping him raised his lash threateningly again, I stepped forward and sent a lash of my own snapping across to him and knocking him back. "It's me you want!" I cried again, feeling my rage build as I surveyed the square. My blood froze when I saw who I had came here to fight.

Ozai was sitting upon a sedan, watching the flogging from the comfort of shade. His eyes widened when he saw me, and I couldn't tell from delight or alarm. "Take me," I challenged, looking him right in the eye.

"Surrender immediately and he will not be harmed," One of the officers stepped up, as I moved closer to Etka. He was covered in blood, barely conscious.

"Anahi," He grunted. "Don't do...this."

With a thin slice of fire, I severed the ropes that bound him and caught him against my chest, keeping one arm out and ready to strike. My eyes passed over to Naheel and Kateri on the roof, waiting until I gave the signal.

"I'm going to get you out of here," I murmured, holding him underneath one arm as he knelt on the ground. His blood had already stained my white robes, and was covering my arms and hands just trying to hold him up.

"Release Song Etka, and we will spare you," A soldier shouted, and I shook my head, holding him close.

"I did not come here to bargain for my life," I challenged, seeing the same man whom I had struck beginning to stand again.

"Anahi..." Etka breathed, and I looked down at him for a moment.

"I love you," I told him, making sure that he knew, that he understood. "And I'm doing this for you."

I saw the soldier begin to come at me with a lash of fire, and I released Etka, stepping in front of him and hurling a burst of flame at my assailant. "You can't touch him!" I screamed, spinning around and taking out the following two who had come to his aid. It was at that point that a switch had been turned inside me. I was livid, I was furious. How could they have done this to Etka, my Etka?

I was going to kill all of them.

I began to fight, constantly turning around to protect Etka from a new assault. Naheel and Kateri came running towards me from the roof, my brother sweeping up clusters of soldiers with tidal waves of water and then freezing them, trapping them in place. Lighting crackled and lashed out from Kateri's hands, as she followed him, taking out those that he may have missed. They reached Etka and I, and Naheel stopped, pausing and kneeling before Etka before lifting him over his shoulders. He was completely defenseless, but I knew that Kateri would protect him.

"Go!" I cried, blasting off a soldier who got a bit too close. "Stay together! I'll hold them off!"

I drew back and then lunged forward, throwing a massive ball of fire at a pair of soldiers, then rolling forth and leaping into the air, arching a blast of fire from my feet. There had to be at least fifty soldiers surrounding me, with more around the Firelord. I felt hands grab my arm, and I spun around, seizing the soldier and twisting him off of me, throwing him against the next man coming with an attack. I shot up a massive flame into the air, seized it with my fist, and sent it spinning around the legions of soldiers surrounding me.

I lunged towards two at once, lowering myself and extending my hands into fists. I struck them both in the groin, and when they collapsed, I turned quickly around, launching myself into the air from the tops of their backs. The Firelord was out of my sight, and with a sinking feeling, I worried that he might have made his escape.

I realized too quickly that they were pushing me into a corner, and I couldn't have that, not if I wanted to get to Ozai. Looking frantically around, I searched for an escape, but my choices were limited. I could either run through the ranks, or blast a hole through the wall of a building and burn my way out.

I had had enough. I paused, deeply inhaling and closing my eyes. I remembered when I had sparred Etka, alone in the forest. Now, it felt as if that had years ago.

My eyes snapped open, just as the soldiers around me were closing in, nearly taking me down, when I slammed my foot down on the stone ground. A wall of fire shot out in all directions around me, forming a barrier of swirling, scorching flame that drove back the swarms of soldiers surrounding me. I took a deep breath, sent the wall of fire flying outwards and began to run, breathing in the smell of smoke and burning flesh.

"Ozai!" I roared, struggling to find the sedan where he had been sitting in the mêlée. The crowd that had been watching the scene had erupted into a panic, and people were trying to flee all at once. I shoved past civilians, trying to find my father, and I raced up a flight of stone steps, to only find the burnt-out shell of where the he had been sitting. My heart lurched, but I saw no body amongst the still-flaming ruins.

He was still out there.

"Anahi!" I heard a shout behind me, and I spun around, seeing the Firelord standing before me, his robes fluttering in the wind and his face livid.

"Tell them who I am!" I cried, taking in ragged breaths. "Tell them!"

"You are nothing!" He roared, running towards me. I broke into a sprint, charging forth at him, and when I saw a whirlwind of fire that he had begun to spin around his body, I launched myself into the air, over the head of the Firelord and spun around, striking him hard from behind.

I landed, breathing hard, and struck again, sending a huge burst of flame at Ozai. He turned, a coy, arrogant look on his face. "You are a better bender than I took you for," He sneered.

"I am the child of the Firelord," I returned caustically. "It should come as no surprise."

"Bastard child," He corrected, conjuring flame in his hands again. "You will be put down, Anahi," He threatened, his eyes cold. "And this will end. Today."

"Yes," I said quietly, taking a deep breath. "This will end today." I drew my hands up and sent a torrent of fire towards Ozai, rushing towards him as I bent.

I collided with my father, practically throwing myself onto him, and we struggled against each other, fingers clawing, fires burning, screaming in each other's faces. I wanted to claw his eyes out, and for a minute, I had let go of my bending, and adopted pure rage. "You hurt Etka!" I screamed, as we fell to the ground. He hit me across the face, and I didn't even feel it. "You hurt him! You hurt him!"

The Firelord kicked me off of him, and slammed a wave of fire against the ground, racing towards me so quickly that I barely had time to defend myself before I was thrown back, hitting the stone ground with a jarring crack. All of the air had been sucked out of me at once, and I gasped, wheezing on the ground for air as Ozai stepped closer to me, tantalizing me before he executed the kill strike.

"You belong on the ground," He sneered, breathing heavily. "With the worms."

I couldn't breathe, and my body was electric with pain. All I could manage was to give him a look of pure loathing as I gasped and struggled for breath. My father drew back a fist, and it was clear he was enjoying this.

Suddenly, a flash of blue shot in front of my eyes, and I waited for the agonizing pain that didn't come. Ozai had fallen back, and I felt firm and steady hands, pulling me to my feet and helping me get my breath back.

"Ka - Kateri?" I breathed, and she gave me a grim nod before leaping to her feet again and facing the Firelord, her hands surrounded by crackling electricity.

"Oh, what is this?" Ozai jeered, but I noticed that a part of his bravado was gone. He sounded shakier, and I realized that this meant he was afraid of losing. "A Kosumi Sister come to save my bastard child?"

"Leave her alone," Kateri said, her voice shaking slightly. "She hasn't done anything wrong."

"Foolish girl," Ozai snarled, conjuring flame of his own. "You shall die, just as Etka and Anahi will die, and her filthy Water Tribe brother."

"No, you won't!" Kateri cried, shooting clear blue volts out of her fingertips at the Firelord. Ozai met her head on with a gust of fire, and they stayed in flux, blasting fire and electricity as hard as they could.

Suddenly, Ozai let go of one hand, and with the other, single-handedly held back Kateri's attack while bringing around a swipe of fire. It was too late for Kateri to block herself, and he sent her flying off of her feet and onto the ground.

"No!" I cried, running towards her, and I realized that I couldn't wind this. Not if I wanted to save Kateri, and not if I wanted to save myself. I picked her up, throwing one of her arms over my shoulder, and holding the other one out towards Ozai.

"Stay back," I warned, struggling to hold Kateri up.

"Or what?" Ozai pushed a loose lock of hair back from his face, and I saw that his forehead was bleeding.

"Just...just stay back," I said, moving slowly away from him with Kateri. My foot stopped on something, and looking down, I realized that it was a body. My stomach rolled, and I told myself that I just had to get Kateri back to the Temple, just to hold on for a little bit longer.

The Firelord drew up twin flames in his hands, and I pulled Kateri close to my chest. "Hold onto me," I told her, and when she wrapped her arms around my neck, I raised mine, inhaling sharply through my nose.

I spread my arms out like wings, my palms flat, and then began to circle fire around us, protecting us in a massive, swirling orb that was scorchingly hot. The fire grew and grew, and I knew that there was no way that my father could harm us, not here, and not like this. I was screaming, yelling as loudly as I could as I spent the last of my energy protecting the pair of us. I looked down at Kateri, and saw that she was crying.

When I could no longer bear it, and no longer had the strength, I let the sphere collapse, the fire dissipated into smoky tendrils around us.

Ozai was gone. I looked around frantically for him, but saw no body. "He ran away!" Kateri cried, moving me forward. "Come on, Anahi, we have to leave him."

We staggered through the streets, through the clusters of people who had stayed around to watch the fight. Each of us was supporting the other as we barely made it back to the Kosumi Temple, collapsing on the steps before the Sisters took us in to safety.


	25. Chapter 24

**Hi everyone! I'm sorry for the long waiting times between updates, but school is nearing its end and that means studying for finals and less time to write! :( I really hope you are all enjoying the story so far - it's so amazing to check the view counter and see the number always growing! This story has seen over 6,000 views! Thank you so much!**

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"Where are Naheel and Etka?" I demanded, grabbing the nearest Sister Kateri and I passed. She saw our state, and her eyes widened in shock.

"They came in an hour ago," She said, waving over another Sister and taking me by the arm. "Naheel is in the Infirmary with Etka."

"What happened to you two?" The other Sister, who had taken up helping Kateri asked, as they led us towards the Infirmary. I wanted to run, but I could barely stand anymore. I had to see Etka.

"Ruae, Anahi fought off at least a hundred soldiers," Kateri explained, and I stared at her in surprise. "And she battled the Firelord."

_"What?"_ Ruae exclaimed in shock. "How are you still alive?"

"Did you kill him?" The other Sister asked, and I shook my head.

"Kateri saved me before he killed _me_," I answered quietly, looking over at her. Her headscarf was loose, and her eyeliner was smudged. A thin trickle of blood ran down from her nose and the side of her cheek was scraped raw from her fall. I met her gaze and bowed my head to her. "Thank you," I said humbly, reaching for her hand. "I would not be alive if it weren't for you."

Kateri gave a grim smile as we reached the Infirmary, and I let go of her hand. My eyes found my brother, kneeling over Etka, who was lying on his stomach, his eyes shut in pain, and I broke free of my company and ran towards them. "Etka!" I cried, falling to my knees at his side. He opened his eyes weakly, and I wanted to pull him into my arms, keep him close to my heart forever, where no one could hurt him ever again. He looked so fragile, so weak, though, that all I could do was hold his hand and gingerly touch his face.

"Anahi..." He murmured, his voice raw and gravelly from shouting.

"Shh," I said gently, my eyes falling over to his back. Naheel and some of the Sisters were trying to salvage the bloody mess of skin that was now Etka's back, and evidently without much anesthetic. He squeezed my hand tightly, and tears came to my eyes.

"Now we're even," He murmured, his voice low enough to for only me to hear it.

"Even?" I breathed, struggling to hold back my tears. "What-What are you talking about?"

"When I attacked you," Etka said. "When I beat you. I deserve this. Now we're even."

Suddenly, I felt as if my throat had closed off, and I turned away, my lips struggling to keep from betraying a sob. "Oh, Etka," I choked. "Don't ever think that. Please don't ever...think that you deserved what they did to you."

I knew that Naheel and Kateri were probably watching this, and more than anything, I wanted to be alone with Etka. I wanted to hold him and protect him and never let him be hurt like this again.

"Anahi," I felt a gentle hand touch my shoulder, and I lifted my head to see Kateri standing behind me. "You're hurt too. You need help."

"I want to stay with him," I said stubbornly, like a child. "I don't ever want to leave him again."

"Anahi, you're covered in ash and you're bleeding," Kateri coaxed gently, and Etka let go of my hand. "It will only be for a little while. I promise."

I sighed, suddenly realizing how exhausted I was again. Seeing Etka had given me a burst of energy. "Go," Etka urged, his teeth grit tightly together. "I'm not going anywhere." I bent down and pressed my lips to his forehead, letting my touch linger before leaving the room with Kateri, holding tightly onto her arm.

I followed her and a few other Sisters through the halls of the Temple to an area I had never been before, chambers behind large wooden doors, where Kateri told me the Sister's resided. Unlike the area of the Temple where the refugees resided, this section was more quiet, more reserved, and in a calming way, more sacred. I knew that I was being let into a very important place.

"This way," Kateri said, leading me into a long room filled with dozens of dark, marble bathtubs. She paused before one, and took down her headscarf and robes before climbing in and turning on the water. I took the one beside her and did the same.

As the tub filled with warm, comfortable water, my gaze went down to my hands. I hadn't noticed before the angry red burns across my skin, and when I caught my reflection in the shiny, black marble on the walls, I was shocked at what I saw.

My hair was disheveled from wrestling with Ozai, and black soot and grime from the street covered seemingly every inch of my exposed skin. My eyes looked haunted, hollow, and burns sliced up my arms and legs.

I closed my eyes, and saw myself throwing tongues of fire, striking and burning any soldier who crossed my path. I remembered trying to escape with Kateri, and I had stepped on a body, charred beyond recognition.

_I had done that. _

_I had killed all of those soldiers._

My body shook with a silent sob, and I couldn't breathe. "Anahi!" Kateri looked over in alarm, and I was shaking all over.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no," I chanted, horrified at myself. My trembling hands went up to my face and shook against my cheeks.

Kateri climbed out of her tub and hurried over to me, pulling a towel around herself and kneeling beside me, holding me upwards by my shoulders. "Anahi, talk to me," She said sharply. "Are you hurt? What's wrong?"

"I'm not him!" I cried shrilly, tears rolling down my face. "I'm nothing like him!"

Kateri's face changed, and her eyes fell. "Anahi," She said softly, getting up and climbing into the tub of water with me. Kateri pulled me into her arms, and I buried my head into her shoulder, crying weakly. "You are nothing like your Father," She said in a firm, but gentle voice. "You did what you had to to save Etka, and he's alive and safe now, because of you. _I'm_ alive and safe now because of you."

"I k-killed at least a hun-hundred men today," I stammered, my voice shaking, and Kateri rubbed my back, gently brushing my hair out of my face. "I _killed_ them!" I looked Kateri in the eyes, tears still swimming in my own.

"The Firelord kills and disposes of those who threaten him," Kateri said. "But you killed to save the lives of those you love. You are selfless, Anahi. You were ready to die so that the one you loved could be saved, and you further protected Naheel and I so that we could escape." Kateri gave me a grim smile and took my hands in hers. "You were a hero today, Anahi. Don't forget that."

I looked down at my hands in hers, and closed them into fists. "I will never firebend again," I said gravely. "Not after the atrocities I committed today. I won't hurt anyone else like I did today."

Kateri looked at me sadly for a long time. "I understand," She said softly. "And I admire your sacrifice. Let's get you cleaned up, and then go see Etka and Naheel, alright?"

* * *

After we had finished washing up, Kateri had given me clean robes to wear, simple and red and comfortable. I didn't ask where they came from.

I went down to the Infirmary, to find it now mostly empty of people, save Etka and Naheel. Naheel was bent over Etka, his hands gracing over the mauled skin. It was a hallowed scene, just the two of them against a high-ceilinged wall surrounded by pillars. Etka looked like he was fading in and out of consciousness, and I heard him murmur something to Naheel.

"It's alright, Etka," Naheel said softly, gently using his healing water to soothe Etka's back. "You're safe here."

I felt the sense that I was intruding on something, and I ducked behind a large red pillar, unnoticed. Neither man looked up nor heard me enter. I held my breath.

"A...nahi..." Etka grunted, and Naheel soothed him.

"She's gone, don't worry," He promised. "Everyone's left. It's just us." Etka's face suddenly crumpled. He released a strangled cry, and I realized this was him finally acknowledging his pain, something he hadn't done during the flogging, and refused to do in front of me.

"It hurts..." He moaned, tears running down his cheeks, and I was stone still, completely floored at the strength of this man. Etka was shaking, and my brother gently tried to calm him down, soothing the pain of his wounds.

"She saw your sacrifice," Naheel said soothingly. "Anahi knows what you have done so that she could live."

Etka's eyes were clamped shut, but silent tears rolled down as he grit his teeth against the pain. "I would never betray her," He swore, giving a low moan of pain. "I'd rather die."

Naheel paused, his face full of resolve. "I know. She knows that too."

Etka groaned against his teeth, tears running down his cheeks as he desperately tried to prevent them. "You can cry in front of me," Naheel said gently. "It won't make you any less of a man."

Etka released a sob that pierced straight through my heart, and I felt myself tear up again. He buried his face in his arms and wept, his back shaking as Naheel tried to stop his pain.

I leaned back against the pillar, unable to watch any longer. Every sound of pain Etka made was like a knife in my chest, but I didn't dare go over to comfort him. If Etka knew that I had seen him break down like this, I would be wounding his dignity as well.

Naheel did his best to soothe him, and when Etka's sobs quieted down and I knew that he had passed out again, I stepped out from behind the pillar, to see Naheel kneeling over Etka with his face in bloodied hands. Etka was asleep again.

"Naheel," I murmured quietly, as not to wake Etka, and wearily, my brother raised his head. I walked quietly over to him and knelt beside him, pressing my lips to his temple.

"Thank you," I murmured, and he drew me into his arms, holding onto me tightly. He stayed like this, holding me for a long while, his face buried in my neck.

"I'm so glad you're alive," He murmured, and I wound my fingers into his tunic, clinging to my brother.

"You saved him," I breathed, pulling away and wiping tears from my eyes.

"How much did you hear?" Naheel asked, his attention going back to the man passed out before us.

"I heard him break," I said softly, my hand running down Etka's long hair. "He thinks that crying out is a sign of weakness, and yet he was so strong today."

"I tried to do the best that I could," Naheel said, his hands passing over Etka's back once more. It looked considerably better from when I had first seen it, but there was still plenty of evidence of the torture he had suffered. "I'm not that good, and-and there was so much blood, Anahi..."

"He's alive because of you," I said gently. "He owes you his life."

"Etka owes me nothing," Naheel said, grasping my hand in his. "Not after he gave me you."

I smiled sadly at my brother, and he leaned over, kissing my forehead. "I'm going to get cleaned up," He told me. "And find us something to eat."

"I'll stay with Etka," I replied. "I want to be here when he wakes."

Naheel stood and smiled softly at me. "I'll be back," He said, and I reached for Etka's hand.

* * *

Kateri ran into Naheel in the hall outside the Infirmary, her eyes widening with startled surprise. "Oh, I was just going in to check and see how Etka and Anahi were doing - " She blurted out in explanation, feeling her cheeks grow hot.

"They're alright now," Naheel said gravely. He looked exhausted, and to her shock, Kateri realized that there were tears in his eyes.

"Naheel..."

"Ozai would have killed her if you hadn't gone back." His voice was low, and his face somber, unbetraying of the fact that he was about to cry. Kateri was moved. "I told you not too, that she could handle it, and I have never been so glad to be wrong." A tear shot down his cheek, and Kateri wrapped her arms around his chest.

"Thank you for my sister," Naheel murmured into her hair, and Kateri looked up at him, her hand gently caressing his cheek. Her clean, pale fingers sharply contrasted with his tanned skin, day-old stubble, and Etka's blood. Naheel's chilling blue eyes were swimming with tears, and she reached up and wiped them away.

"It's alright now," She said to console him. Kateri didn't even think of what the Sisters would say to this. She knew right now was that the man she deeply cared about was suffering, and his pain was causing hers now. She felt his hands reach for her face, and he kissed her. Kateri felt the salt of his tears on his lips.

Naheel needed her, and she needed him too. Today had been a terrifying nightmare, and even now, she knew there was no guarantee of their safety. There was no promise of tomorrow, and as Kateri kissed Naheel back, she worried that the Firelord's wrath upon them all was only beginning.


	26. Chapter 25

**Hey everyone, I'm sorry I haven't been updating as much as I'd like to, but school has been really crazy right now with final exams, which obviously take priority. I'll be all done by next Tuesday, so I hopefully should be able to update more frequently after that on vacation! Anyway, please enjoy this chapter, I know it's shorter, but the next one will be much longer. Thank you for continuing to read this! Xxoo **

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I sat on one of the Temple's balconies, staring out over the Capitol. The air was too hot, too stagnant, and I felt uneasy. We had been here for several days now, and there was no news, nothing from Ozai. I knew that my friends and I were safe here, but for how long weighed heavily on my mind.

I was thinking about my mother, Kita. I hadn't allowed myself to do that since meeting with Ozai, and now I was back to square one. I had no way of contacting her family, or even finding her again. I had come so far, and had lost everything...

_Not everything_, I reminded myself. I got up and left the balcony, peering downwards into the courtyard below. My brother and Kateri were sitting closely together on the grass, relaxing and enjoying each other's company. The past several days had been especially hard on my brother, who had worked tirelessly at Etka's side to heal him. I owed everything to Naheel and Kateri; without them, Etka and I would not be alive.

"Anahi." I turned behind me and! saw Etka approaching me slowly, holding onto a staff for support. He had been recovering well, but was still very weak despite Naheel's rigorous healing sessions.

A smile spread across my face as he approached me, and I went to him. "How are you doing?" Etka asked, bending his neck and kissing my forehead. I wrapped my arms around his chest and looked up at him solemnly.

"I love you," I murmured quietly.

"I love you too," Etka assured me, his free hand wrapping around my waist. "Let's sit down."

"Of course," I released him and we slowly returned to my original spot at the balcony. Etka slowly eased down beside me, his staff still upright in his hand. He moved like an old man, and that frightened me.

"How's the pain?" I asked him placidly.

"Naheel has helped a lot," He said with a shy, boyish smile. "I'm not in a lot of pain if I don't exert myself and most of the wounds have scabbed over, but the scars will stay."

"That's good news," I smiled encouragingly.

"It is," Etka sighed, his expression fading as he looked out over the city. I saw his calm composure transform into a deep sadness and pain as he looked over his home. Our home. "Anahi, we can't stay here much longer," He said soberly.

"I know," I replied, watching him carefully. "But we need to wait until you've completely healed first before we try and leave the city."

"I'll be fine whenever we need to leave," Etka insisted, and I knew he was trying to be brave for me.

"We'll wait," I said firmly. "We can wait." I moved closer to him, nestling up in his arms and resting my head on his shoulder. I closed my eyes, allowing myself to relax and feel safe again in his arms.

"I never wanted you to be hurt because of me," Etka said in a low voice, and I lifted my head.

"Etka?"

"I just...I wanted to leave with my honor intact," He confessed, and I stayed silent, realizing how important this was for him to admit. "That's why I went back to the Firelord. I...I wanted to keep my Captainship. I should have left with you and Naheel from the Temple. I never should have gone back." He paused, and I saw silent tears running down his face. I had seen him get emotional before, but this was the first I had seen him _cry_.

"I was stupid," He said bitterly. "_Stupid_! You, Naheel, Kateri, you all nearly died because of what _I_ did!"

"Etka, _no one_ blames you," I said firmly, trying to meet his eyes. "Do you hear me? We all understand...and we all would have done it again for you." I took his face in my hands, gently turning his head so that he met my eyes.

"I love you," I murmured, drawing him close to me. "Always. And all of this will be over soon." I planted a slow kiss on Etka's lips, and began to speak to him in a low, calming voice, filling up my paused with kisses.

"We're going to leave the Temple, in the dead of night where no one can see us," I said carefully. "And we're going to steal a little ship and sail to the Earth Kingdom, where we'll stop in a tiny little village. And we're going to disguise ourselves and then make our way down south and sail to the Southern Water Tribe. You can meet my parents and no one will have to know. No one will know where we've gone. We'll be invisible...free."

Etka was holding onto the front of my robes, clinging to me. "No more fear," I ran my hand through his now short, jagged hair, and wondered what they had done to him while he was imprisoned. "No more fear."

"No more fear," Etka repeated, taking a deep breath. He ran a sleeve over his eyes and sighed, pulling away from me and straightening up. I watched as he collected himself, transforming from the broken, terrified boy I was now familiar with to the brave, composed Captain Song. I remembered our first kiss, Etka holding me in his arms in the moonlit garden. I wanted to ask him for that again, I longed to be held, but I had to be the strong one now.

Etka gripped his staff tightly and he struggled to push himself off the ground, grimacing in pain. I reached out to help him stand, and with one hand, Etka waved me away, silently enduring the struggle until he was on his feet again.

"I wanted to tell you something," I said quietly, as we left the balcony together, making our way slowly down the stairs. I took Etka's arm, holding onto him tightly. I waited until we reached the ground floor, just before the courtyard where Naheel and Kateri were sitting together.

"After what happened with your rescue, I did some horrific things," I told him quietly, bowing my head. "I lost myself to anger and grief, and I lashed out. I _killed_...a lot of people, and after that, I promised myself never to use my bending again."

Etka's mouth dropped open, his face betraying his shock. "What?" He asked breathlessly.

"I'm destructive," I looked up at him, my face firm, resolved. "And I let my emotions control me when I bend. The last thing that I would ever want would to be for you to get hurt if I lost control."

"Anahi..." Etka looked as though I had slapped him across the face. "Firebending is a part of who you are - "

"And you know who gave me my bending," I returned evenly, and he withdrew. "I will _never_ be like him. I have to give up my bending."

Etka looked hurt, and I realized that he too was remembering the months he had spent teaching me, training me. I reached up and touched his cheek. "This is through no fault of your own," I told him gently. "I just don't have your self control. This is for the best, Etka."

"If this is what you want," He said quietly. "I won't stop you." Etka reached for my hand, weaving his fingers in between mine. I squeezed his hand.

I looked at him gratefully. "Thank you," I murmured, and looked over towards Naheel and Kateri, who had both stood and were walking over towards us.

"Hello," Kateri smiled welcomingly at us. "Etka, it's good to see you walking more."

"Thank you," Etka bowed his head respectfully to her. "It feels good to be up again."

"How's the pain?" Naheel asked Etka good-naturedly, and I remembered in amusement how they had barely gotten along upon first meeting. Perhaps our hardships had drawn us more closely together.

"How are you feeling?" Kateri drew me aside, away from Etka and Naheel.

"I'm doing alright," I said, but in my heart, I knew that it was a lie. Late at night, my panicked mind would revisit the scene of my destruction, burning bodies collapsing and falling under my wrath, the harrowing sound of the soldier's screams as they burned alive. I would wake up in a cold sweat, my heart pounding out of my chest. It would take hours for me to calm myself down again.

Kateri gave me a doubtful look. "Are you...dealing with everything alright?" She asked hesitantly.

"I told you, I'm fine," I replied firmly. We all had enough problems to deal with. I didn't want anyone to worry about me. "Shall we go get something to eat?"

"That sounds like a good idea," Naheel turned to me, and then the world exploded.

I was caught across the chest by a flying chunk of splintered wood, torn off of a banister and was thrown back against the ground.

"Anahi!" Etka bellowed, his cry guttural and harrowed. He dropped the jet of fire he had conjured to protect us and hobbled as fast as he could towards me, collapsing by my feet.

I had hit my head, and my vision split into two. Etka was circling around another version of himself. Behind him, flames were beginning to engulf the Temple's walls. Far away, I heard screaming.

"Anahi! Stay with me! Look at me!" He cried, grabbing me by the shoulders. I saw Kateri fall to her knees beside me, electricity glowing at her fingertips and look across at Etka, her eyes full of worry.

"They're here for her," She said. "The Fire Nation army is coming for Anahi."


	27. Chapter 26

**Hey everyone! Thank you for waiting, but I'm finally done with school and my wisdom teeth are out so here is Chapter 26! **

**I wanted to address something. I just write for fun. I write Fanfiction because it's a good creative outlet for me, and I enjoy putting fruition the thoughts and ideas I have bouncing around in my brain. I post my fanfic here because it's nice to have an audience for my work, and for the most part, everyone here is supportive and constructive. **

**That being said, while I do invest a lot of time in this activity and I care about what I'm writing, I try not to take myself too seriously. So, if things are not 100% accurate according to cannon, you'll have to forgive me and let it slide. I don't use a beta, and (confession) most of the time I don't proofread my work, although for this chapter I revised a lot of stuff because I wanted to get it exactly right. I read all of the comments, and I do take into consideration what the readers say and what they are thinking of the story (and I'm really grateful for those comments!) but ultimately, this is my story to write. I'm not making anyone read it.**

**So now that's off my chest. For the course of the many months I have been writing this story, I've had the fortune of having a very supportive audience, so thank you for that. Anyway, enough talk, please enjoy Chapter 26.**

* * *

Kateri raised her head, looking across at Etka. "They're here for her. The Fire Nation army is coming for Anahi."

"What happened?" Naheel came hurrying over, his eyes widening in shock when he saw his sister lying on the ground. "Anahi!"

"She's still alive," Etka proclaimed, removing his finger from her neck. "She's just hit her head hard from the fall."

"We need to leave right away," Kateri declared, examining Anahi's chest and stomach for any bits of splintered wood. Smoke was getting in her eyes and nose, and she coughed, agitated.

"We?" Naheel repeated, in a bit of surprise.

"We can't stay here," Kateri returned, realizing the extent of what she had just said. Had she just admitted that she wanted to stay with him? Did she now just realize this herself? "We're under attack. Naheel, Etka, you cover me, I'm going to carry Anahi."

"Let me," Etka volunteered, but Kateri shook her head.

"I need you and Naheel to be able to defend in case we run into trouble," She said, slowly removing her long head scarf and tearing it in half. Naheel's eyes widened in surprise. "And Naheel, can you bend some water into this? We all need to be able to breathe."

Naheel drew up water from the pond and doused the halves of Kateri's headscarf with it, and in turn, wet the top halves of his and Etka's robes, which they pulled over their mouthes and noses. Kateri tied the wet scarf over Anahi's face before she did her own and carefully lifted Anahi over her shoulders, one arm wrapped under Anahi's leg and holding onto her opposite hand, keeping her in place. Kateri had one free hand to protect themselves with.

There was another blast, one so strong that shook Kateri's bones. She knew that she was obligated to defend the Temple and protect the inhabitants, but she _was_ doing that, wasn't she?

"Come on," She ordered. "We have to get down to the harbor and hijack a boat. I know a couple of hidden ways out of the Temple, but we have to hurry." They would have to sneak out the back, through the Sister's chambers. No man had ever been inside the sacred place, but now was not the time.

Kateri began to jog with Anahi on her shoulders, Etka with the staff in hand and Naheel with pools of water around his fists. Her heart was racing, and the smoke from the burning fire stung her eyes. Her home was burning around her, her Sisters fighting to protect the sick and the hurt. Where were Ruae? Kula?

She didn't have time to think about them right now. Anahi was hurt, and possibly dying, and they all would be put to death if they were caught. Kateri led them deeper into the Temple, and tried to block out the sounds of the screaming all around her. They ran past Sister's and refugees alike, all trying to escape. The group stumbled into the main courtyard, and what Kateri saw made her stop dead in her tracks.

Avatar Kosumi was burning. Two Fire Nation soldiers were standing before her, torching the wooden statue with jets of flame. Rage stirred within Kateri, and she nearly dropped Anahi.

"No!" She cried with a strained shout, tears forming in her eyes. Instantly, Naheel drew up a massive wave of water and sent it cascading towards the statue, extinguishing the flames with a loud hiss and soaking the soldiers.

"That's her!" One of the soldiers cried, significantly pissed off, pointing to Anahi on Kateri's shoulders. "That's the girl!"

"Not over my dead body," Etka snarled, stepping forward, his eyes dark, his grip on his staff strong and powerful.

"Song Etka," The other soldier sneered, a wicked smile twisting over his face. He swept into a frivolous bow, mocking him. "My salutations, _Captain_."

"How's your back?" The other taunted. "Do you still _cry_ about it?"

Etka lifted his staff in the air, spinning it over his head and beginning to form fire around the staff's body. He lunged forward with a loud cry, launching a powerful burst of fire towards the soldier, throwing him down onto his knees. "You're wrong there," He said, his voice terse and full of quiet rage. "I _never_ showed my pain. I never begged for mercy. You, however, will be when I'm done with you."

The other soldier rushed at Etka to attack, and Etka stepped out to the side and struck him hard in the ribs with the staff and in a split second, spun the staff around and knocked him across the head with a sickening, bone-splitting crack. Kateri felt her stomach turn over. The soldier dropped immediately and did not get up.

"Etka," Kateri said forcibly. "We don't have time. _She_ doesn't have time."

"More will come," Etka said, his shoulders rippling in anger. The soldier lying before him looked terrified.

Naheel swept a gust of water forwards and froze it against the wall, trapping the soldier with it. "Let's go!" He dragged Etka away from the wall, and Kateri followed, giving the charred, ruined statue of Kosumi one final look.

Was she doing the right thing by helping them? A thought, a brief and horrible thought passed through her mind, that surrendering Anahi to the Fire Nation would stop this attack, would save all of the lives here. But was it so horrible? One life for hundreds.

Kateri looked at the faces of Naheel and Etka beside her, how ready they were to lay down their lives for the safety of the group. She remembered how she herself had insisted on going back to get Anahi after Naheel and Etka were safe in the Temple. She remembered how Anahi had used the last of her strength to protect her, and Kateri knew in her heart that she would do the same for her.

"This way," She led them through the deserted chambers of the Sisters, their steps echoing through the halls. Kateri stopped by a simple door at the end of the chambers and turned to look at Naheel and Etka. "This is the way out."

Naheel reached for his sister. "Thank you for all that you have done for us," He said earnestly, his voice low. "We all owe our lives to you."

Gratefully, Kateri put Anahi down, and Naheel picked her up, carrying her over his shoulders as she had. Kateri was frozen. This was it, this was the end, and a choice had to be made. She could join her Sisters in defending the Temple, or she could protect Anahi, Etka, and Naheel. Protect the masses, or protect the few people she had ever loved. She closed her eyes.

"I'm not leaving you here," Kateri said, straightening up. "I'm going with you."

Naheel's face changed as he struggled to hold back his surprise and relief. "Really?" He asked, and Kateri nodded, exhaling shakily.

"Hopefully there shouldn't be as many soldiers outside this door," Kateri instructed. "But be prepared to defend yourself. I'll lead you down to the harbor, and we have to steal one of the smaller Fire Nation ships in order to travel as quickly as possible out of here."

"I know my way around any of the warships," Etka said, bracing his arm against the door. "The three of us can likely overcome a smaller vessel if we act quickly."

"That sounds like a plan," Kateri replied. "Naheel, Etka and I will flank you on either side, but follow us towards the harbor, alright."

"Alright. Ready?" Naheel asked, his muscles rigid and showing through his tunic. Kateri wanted to hold him again, to forget about what lay beyond the door.

The Temple shook again with another blast, and Kateri knew that they didn't have much more time. "Let's go."

Etka shoved the door open, and they burst out. Kateri's gaze swept around them, and spotted a cluster of soldiers heading their way. "Run!" She cried. "Keep running and don't stop!"

Lightning blossomed at her fingertips and Kateri skidded to a halt, facing the pack of soldiers head on. She set herself into a stance, circling her arms around her head and met them in the middle, shooting out a powerful beam of blue lightning that struck the ground before the soldiers and ricocheted upwards, knocking several of them back.

Etka was moving beside her, having just fended off a pair or soldiers opposite Naheel. He was limping slightly, relying heavily on his staff to walk. Kateri knew he couldn't go on for much longer without hurting himself.

Kateri grabbed Etka by the arm, helping him forwards. He hobbled down the steps towards the docks, but Kateri stopped and stayed at the top of the stairs. "Go help Naheel find a ship!" She cried, seeing the approaching soldiers closing in. Her heart was beating in her throat. "I'll fend them off!"

Etka turned around, looking up at her in shock. "Kateri, no..." He breathed, but she waved her arm impatiently for him to go.

"I'll be right behind you!" She cried, shooting a jet of lightning at the closest soldier. "Go, Etka!"

Etka gave her a reluctant, fleeting look, and then began down the steps again. Kateri stepped forwards, away from the docks, and began to hold back the soldiers, shooting off bolts of lightning as quickly as she could. Her heart was racing in her chest, her eyes darting around at the attacks from all sides. She couldn't hold them all off. Not on her own.

A soldier met her on her left, and Kateri grabbed him by the arm and flipped him over her shoulder, then shot a bolt of lightning at the man behind him, throwing him back. She turned and saw a pair making their way towards the stairs and blasted them off, sending them flying down the stairs and into the deck with a sickening thud.

There were too many. A thought came to Kateri, and as she looked around, she realized that this was her last resort. She raised her arms above her head, breathing in deeply. She could feel the air currents around her crackle with static, spiraling higher and higher into the sky. Then suddenly, with a loud shout, Kateri clapped her hands together and a massive strike of lightning shot up into the sky.

"Enough!" She cried, turning towards the wooden steps. Power coursed through her veins, the lightning itself giving her her strength. No one was going to touch Anahi and Etka. No one was going to touch Naheel.

Kateri slid her right hand up the palm of her left and sent the bolt flying into the side of the wall of the Temple. The red plaster and wood exploded, raining down on the soldiers who were advancing towards her. She said a silent prayer that that side of the Temple was vacant, and jumped in surprise when the entire façade gave way, a sheet of fire and wood collapsing down on the soldiers below.

Kateri began to race down the steps, struggling to maintain her footing and fend off blows from the soldiers behind her. Her feet landed on the deck and Kateri spun around and with all of her strength, slid one hand up the palm of the opposite and the bolt of lightning shot forward, exploding on the wooden steps. The blast sent splinters of wood hurtling through the air, cutting into Kateri's skin, and soldiers screaming, falling as the stairs collapsed beneath them.

"Kateri!" She heard her name and was pulled back into reality. Naheel was standing on the stern, his eyes frantic and terrified. "Come on! Come on!"

She burst into a run, her feet pounding against the wooden planks. She didn't look back, she didn't turn back to fight those who had perhaps been able to pursue her still. The acrid taste of smoke burned her nose and mouth, and her eyes were watering so badly it almost looked as if she were crying as she ran. Naheel was crying out her name, urging her forwards. He extended his hand and with a cry, Kateri leapt up and seized it, hanging off the side of the boat.

_"Go Etka!"_ Naheel screamed behind him, seizing Kateri's forearm and struggling to pull her over the side of the ship. There was a deep rumble from below deck, and the ship began to pull out of the harbor. Naheel groaned and with a final reach, pulled Kateri upwards and sent them both sprawling on the deck.

Kateri lay down on the cold steel of the ship's deck, completely exhausted. She looked a wreck, her hair loose and snarly and singed from fire, thin trickles of blood running down her face from the scratches and scrapes she had sustained. Her breathing was ragged and labored, and her tongue still tasted smoke.

She didn't want to raise her head, she didn't want to look at the destruction and carnage that lay behind her. She never wanted to fight again, only lay down, close her eyes, and sleep for a thousand years. The Temple was destroyed, her Sisters dead or dying. She had lost everything.

"Kateri," Naheel said softly, kneeling at her side. She didn't resist, didn't protest when he lifted her up and drew her into his arms. Silent, expressionless tears rolled down her cheeks, and she couldn't bear to look at the destruction behind her, as the only home she had ever known burnt to ashes. "It's over now," Naheel kept saying, gently stroking her hair. Her blood was running onto his fingers, but he didn't seem to care or even notice. "It's over now."

* * *

When the cruiser was safely out at sea, Etka left his position at the helm and met with Naheel and Kateri, who were standing at the stern in each other's arms, looking back at where the Fire Nation had slipped away from their sight. Etka had just been to see Anahi, who was below deck in one of the officer's quarters. She was still unconscious, but stable, and Etka was relieved. Naheel turned to meet Etka when he heard his footsteps, but didn't let go of Kateri.

"How's my sister?" He asked.

"The same," Etka replied, joining them and placing his hands upon the railing, staring out at the open water. "She'll wake up soon, though."

"We can't tell Anahi what happened to the Temple," Kateri spoke up suddenly, her voice hollow and flat. Etka regarded her in slight surprise. "If we tell her, she'll immediately demand to go back and want turn herself in."

"What should we tell her then?" Etka asked. "There's no way that she'll believe that the fireball that knocked her out was just an accident."

"We'll fudge the truth then," Naheel replied. "Tell her that the Temple was defended by the Sisters, who drove the army back. We'll say that the Sisters helped us escape."

"She'll believe that," Etka agreed, looking over at Kateri. "And she'll understand the sacrifice that you made to be with us. _None_ of us will ever forget that."

Kateri gave a sad, withering smile, not meeting anyone's eyes. "It's over now," She said, repeating what Naheel had said countless times to comfort her. "I'll take first watch. One of you should sit with Anahi. She'll need someone when she wakes up."


	28. Chapter 27

I awoke in the dark, lying on a stark mattress with red candles twinkling by my bedside. Too familiar, this seemed, and I remembered a time where I had been in a warship like this before.

_"Etka!_" I screamed, bolting upright. My heart dropped in my chest, adrenaline dumping in my veins. Hands grabbed me by the shoulders and held me back, and I struggled, terrified. _"Etka!"_

"Anahi, calm down!" I turned and looked at the owner of the hands, and drew back in surprise to see a woman sitting beside me, her eyes wide with alarm.

Her hair was cut short, shoulder length, and her face was clean, free of kohl around her eyes. Scratches decorated her face and neck, and she sported a bandage across her forehead. "K - Kateri?" I breathed, and she nodded slowly. I barely recognized her now, she looked so starkly different.

I heard heavy footsteps sounding towards the room, and Etka burst in, looking panicked. "What is it?" He demanded, slightly out of breath, and I relaxed, embarrassed.

"Everything's fine," Kateri turned back towards him, getting up. "She just woke up."

"Where are we?" I asked, looking at the both of them. I saw Kateri and Etka exchange a wordless glance.

"Aboard a Fire Nation cruiser," Etka said slowly, coming in and taking a seat beside me. As he entered, Kateri got up and made for the door, muttering something about giving us some space. Etka took my hand in his.

"We escaped the Temple with Kateri and the other Sisters' help," He explained. "They were able to fend off the Fire Nation army so that we could escape."

"How is Kateri here?" I asked. "She didn't stay at the Temple?"

"She chose to come with us," Etka said gently. "But it was a very difficult choice for her, so she's been having a hard time lately. Just be considerate around her."

"Of course," I sat up and swung my legs over on the side of the bed, staring at the ground. Gingerly, I touched my head, where I had fallen and blacked out. How was it that I had missed so much? I believed Etka, but it couldn't have been the whole truth.

"How are you doing?" I looked up at him, and he sighed, his hand going up to his hair, as if he were about to run his hand through his once long locks. Etka's fingers touched the shorn hairs on his head, and his hand faltered.

"I'll be relaxed when we reach the Earth Kingdom and can get off this ship," He replied. "We need to get out of the Fire Nation as quickly as possible, but that won't be easy."

"What can we do?" I asked him. "What can I do?"

"Nothing, for now," Etka stood up, and I followed suit. "Just try and take it easy. You hit your head hard."

I stared at him, and he met my eyes. I noticed that his were dark with fatigue and lack of sleep, and I felt disconcerted. I wrapped my arms around his chest and held him close. I didn't say anything, and he didn't either, only holding me close and resting his head atop mine. I could hear his heartbeat through his tunic, his strong, steady pulse, and I was comforted. As long as this beat was there, things would be fine. I told myself that over and over in my head until I believed it.

* * *

Night had fallen, and I left my place at the bow of the ship. We had been rotating places all day as we sailed through the bay of the Fire Nation, and everyone's anxiety was high. We barely spoke, merely exchanging glances as we shifted positions from scanning the water for signs of trouble, to steering the ship, and trying to get a fitful rest.

I walked into the command room and saw Kateri, Naheel and Etka standing by the engine, marks of worry on their faces. They were speaking in low, fretful voices, and abruptly stopped when Naheel noticed me enter.

"What's going on?" I asked, my face falling, and my brother swallowed.

"We don't have enough fuel to make it out of the bay," He said gravely. "Which means that we're going to have to stop somewhere."

"How can we dock in the harbor and not be noticed though?" Kateri asked, her voice lilting upwards in frustration and panic.

"We can swim," I suggested. "Send the boat sailing forwards with the fuel we have left and we abandon ship to swim to shore."

"Use the ship as a decoy?" Etka remarked.

"It might work," Naheel nodded. "If the ship is intercepted, we'll be off it and they'll have lost our trail."

I noticed Kateri looked uncomfortable, nervous, and when I reached out to touch her arm consolingly, she flinched, as if she had seen me raise my fist to strike her instead.

"What's wrong?" I asked her, and she swallowed, shaking her head.

"All of you can swim," She said nervously, pacing up and down the cabin. "Anahi and Naheel learned in the Water Tribe, and Etka learned in the Navy right?"

"You can't swim?" Naheel asked, sounding slightly surprised. Kateri gave him a hard look.

"I never had a need to learn," She returned. "And I _can_ swim, just not very well..."

"How well?" Etka asked. Kateri looked ashamed.

"I...I can doggy paddle," She admitted, and I shook my head.

"I can help you," I assured her. "I've swam with someone else before." Naheel looked like he had been caught off guard, as if I had taken his place in aiding Kateri.

"If we're going to do this, we should do it now," Etka concluded. "Take anything that you can carry with you. We'll go off the side of the cruiser."

The cruiser was set to maintain its course, and we all hurried to salvage what little supplies we had obtained aboard the ship. My fingers touched the dagger around my neck. Part of me wanted to throw it into the ocean, and watch it sink down to the blackness of the ocean floor, but the other part knew that this was the only thing that my Mother had ever owned. It was my last surviving piece of her, and I had to save it.

I tucked the dagger back under my tunic and joined the others along the side of the ship. We bore blankets, food wrapped in sheets, and worried, fearful faces. "See the village there?" Naheel asked, pointing to the coast at a smattering of twinkling lights in the darkness. "We'll swim to the outskirts and set up camp in the forest there. Is everyone ready?"

"Yes," I nodded, looking around at the rest. Kateri's eyes widened in fear as she looked down at the black water below, and she gripped the edge of the ship in trepidation. "I'll go first."

"We'll dive together," Etka stepped up beside me. "We should stick in pairs. That way, if someone gets lost, or hurt, they'll have backup."

Kateri nodded worriedly at Naheel, and I looked at Etka, meeting his eyes. He nodded once at me, and I looked out at the water before us. _This was it._

I leapt outwards, curving my body in the shape for a dive. For a moment, I sailed through the air, which parted seamlessly for me to glide through. I slid through the water easily, cutting through the barrier from air to sea. The shock of the cold sent a shiver over my skin, and I swam upwards with the moon as my light.

Etka dove in after me, and when he surfaced, he whipped his hair back and forth like a wet dog, his mouth parting to form a silent O. Already, Naheel and Kateri were drifting away from us on the boat, and I saw them standing hand in hand, their silhouettes prominent against the moonlight. Naheel was gently coaxing Kateri to jump, and I knew that we didn't have much time before the cruiser would drift away and the night would be too much to separate us.

"Jump!" Etka hissed, looking around in worry as he tread water. Suddenly, Naheel grabbed Kateri by the arm and pulled her close to him, holding her against his chest.

"Don't scream," He ordered, and together, they jumped out off of the boat and with a loud splash, hit the water.

Immediately, Etka and I began to swim towards them, and they surfaced together. Kateri was practically on top of Naheel, and he was struggling to hold her up as best as he could. "C-Cold!" She stammered, floundering to maintain her grip. "S-So cold!"

"Is everyone alright?" I whispered, swimming up alongside them.

"We're fine," Naheel grunted, moving Kateri around his body. "Kateri, hold onto my back." He rolled onto his stomach and began to swim towards the shore with Kateri clinging to his back, and I exchanged a look with Etka.

"It works," He said, passing a smile my way, and I gave a light chuckle, the only levity I had seen in a long time. Etka and I followed them, and I watched the waters to check for any approaching ships.

We crawled out of the gentle waters, and immediately set out for the surrounding forest. The tiny village would be too dangerous to enter, especially at night. Naheel put Kateri down, and all of us, soaking wet and chilled to the bone, began to walk through the forest.

No one spoke, and our only light was the silvery moonlight filtering through the trees. We all strode close together, trying to ignore the weariness and hunger that drove us, and the inescapable fear that we would all be found.

It was Etka who found the small cave, and we set up camp inside. Even though we were freezing, and our clothes were still soaking wet, we couldn't light a fire for fear of being seen. We all took off as many layers of soaking wet clothing as possible and laid them out to dry, and Naheel announced that he would take first watch, and that we should get some rest.

Kateri quickly found a place behind a cluster of stones, and promptly curled up and tried to sleep. Etka and I found a corner of the cave against the wall, and I slid down beside him.

"Don't tell your brother," Etka whispered, his eyes flicking over to Naheel. He cupped his hands together and a tiny blossom of fire emerged. He turned his back to the cave's entrance, and we both huddled over the fire together, trying to salvage what little warmth we could.

I looked up at Etka, and saw the light of the fire dancing around his face, casting flickering shadows that came and went. He met my eyes, and a soft smile crossed his face. "We'll get through this together," He promised. "Do you remember what you told me? Back at the Temple?"

I smiled wistfully. "We're halfway done," I told him. "All we need to do is sail to the Earth Kingdom, and we'll be safe. This will all be over."

Etka closed his hand over the flame and leaned over, kissing my forehead. "Soon," He promised, leaning his head down and resting his forehead against mine. I curled up against his chest, and closed my eyes. Etka was shivering underneath me, and I wrapped my arms around him, holding onto him tightly. We just had to make it through the night.

* * *

It was Kateri who woke me up to take the watch, gently shaking my shoulder until I was pulled from my dream. Our eyes met, and she said nothing, only nodding her head over towards the mouth of the cave.

Instantly, I knew that something wasn't right. Careful not to awaken Etka, I slowly climbed off of him, and Kateri pressed a finger to her lips, crouching down. I followed her suit, and she slowly led me over to the mouth of the cave, pressing her back against the wall. My heart was pounding, and I did the same.

Kateri turned her head over to mine, and practically brought her mouth to my ears. Her voice was barely a breath, and I realized that she was afraid of the sound of her voice echoing. "There are soldiers just outside," She breathed, and chills ran down my arms. Instantly, I glanced over at Etka, and my brother sleeping close by.

"Should we wake them?" I asked, my heart racing.

"No, they're loud when they get up," Kateri said. "I got you up because I knew you could be quiet."

"Kateri..." I began nervously, looking down at my hands. "I...I can't - "

"I know," She murmured, turning to look out the cave again. "I just wanted someone with me."

We both froze when we heard voices coming from outside, and carefully, I unsheathed my dagger, knowing I might need it. "Do you see this?" Someone called, and with a start, I realized that most of our clothes were lying outside, in plain view of anyone passing by. I grabbed Kateri's arm, my eyes widening in panic.

"There's clothing here by this..." A young man stumbled into the clearing before the mouth of the cave, his sentence trailing off in shock. His eyes fell right onto Kateri and I, and then found Etka and Naheel, who was now stirring from the sound of the intruder's voice. We stood like that, frozen and staring at the other, daring the opposite to make the first move.

Suddenly, more people came into the clearing, all looking at us in shock and surprise. I noticed that they weren't wearing the uniforms of soldiers, but were armed in spite of this, wearing armored robes and wielding long swords sheathed in their belts.

"Are...are you the group on the run from the Fire Lord?" One of the intruders spoke up. Naheel, and now Etka had gotten up, taking their stances beside Kateri and I. None of us spoke.

"We're not here to hurt you, we promise," A different man said. "We're against the Fire Lord, and we know what happened in the Capitol. We're here to help you."


	29. Chapter 28

**Hey everyone! Thank you for still reading this, even though I haven't been able to update as much as I'd like. Thank you for your continued support and enjoy!**

My eyes met with my brother's, and then with Etka's and Kateri's. "We don't want your help," I spoke up, glaring at their leader. The young man looked at me pleadingly, as if he were trying to make me understand. I gripped the dagger tighter. He didn't look to be that much older than Etka, and in fact, almost all of the people in his group seemed to be around our age. The leader's head was completely shaven bald, which only made his eyes more prominent.

"We know what happened in the Capitol," He explained, his grey eyes going to Etka. "We have informants in the Palace. We know what they did to you."

Etka stiffened, and I heard him inhale sharply. I looked over to him in worry. "We promise that we're on your side, and we can prove it," The man continued. "I know this is hard to believe, and I know that you don't want to trust us - "

"We _don't_," Kateri icily cut in.

"If you stay out here, the soldiers in the village will find you soon and put you to death," A woman spoke up, her voice earnest. "Or worse, you'll be brought back to the Capitol. You can't stay here. None of us can stay here much longer."

"Then leave," Etka said rigidly.

"We have informants who were there when you were imprisoned," The leader said, looking directly at Etka now. I saw beads of sweat forming at his temples, and I had a bad feeling about what he was going to say next. "I can prove it to you, Captain Song. I know what the officer in charge of your custody said to you. All of us know what happened."

Etka's breathing quickened, and he drew back. I drew back with him, laying a hand on his arm. It was as if he didn't even know I was there.

"Howwereyouthereandyoudidnttrytostopit, youdidntdoanythingtostopit - " Etka blurted out, his words running together in a panicked rush. The leader moved closer to him, his eyes full of sympathy. His voice was gentle and soft when he spoke.

"He said that Anahi could never love you, after what you did," He said, his eyes sliding over to me for a second. My mouth fell open in shock, and I felt like someone had kicked me in the chest. It was a horrible thing that Etka's torturers had said, and what was even worse was that Etka seemed to believe it. "He said that someone like you doesn't deserve to be loved. And when you didn't break then, he told you that he was going to break _you_, in front of the whole city, before...before he touched her - "

"Enough," Kateri cut him off harshly. "We get it."

I grabbed Etka by the arms, but he was looking beyond me, his body shaking. "It's over now," I said, keeping my voice low. "It's not real." Etka looked like he was about to break down, and I was frightened to see him like this. What had they done to him in prison? What part of them had they broken?

"What do you want?" Naheel demanded angrily.

"You aren't safe here," One of the women said pleadingly. "Please, just come with us. You'll be protected in our stronghold and be away from the village. We can explain everything there but now you aren't safe."

I looked over at Kateri and Naheel, and then at Etka. "He's telling the truth," Etka said, his voice hollow. "Go with them." Kateri grabbed my wrist, turning her face away from the group before us.

"I don't like this," She said, her voice barely audible. "But they're right. We can't stay here."

"The minute something doesn't feel right," Naheel said in a low undertone, stepping up behind Kateri. "We leave right away."

I sighed, looking up at Etka again. He looked shaken to the bone, and I was scared that he might shut down. The leader here evidently knew exactly what horrors he had been subjected to, whereas I could only guess. I took him by the arm, holding onto him tightly.

"We'll go with you," I turned to the leader of the group and walking out to where Etka's and my clothes were spread out. I scooped them up into my arms with my free hand. "Where is this stronghold of yours?"

The leader's face visibly relaxed, and he reached out to shake my hand. I didn't take it, holding tightly onto Etka's arm instead. "My name is Au Ro," He said, withdrawing his hand, unfazed, and began to gesture to the others around him. "And this is Nori, Oharu, Saeron, Anzai and Songen. There's more of us obviously, and you'll meet them all soon."

"We'll wait on that," Naheel spoke up, appearing on Etka's opposite side. Au Ro cast a glance at Etka's face, and nodded in understanding. We continued to walk through the forest, and I tried my best to mentally map our path from here back to the sea. _Just in case..._

Eventually, we stopped before an indiscriminable group of trees, and Songen took off his shoes, handing them to Anzai. "What's going on?" Kateri asked, looking around skeptically.

"We're going to get into the stronghold now," Nori stepped up beside her. "Songen is an earth bender."

Songen swept over the ground with his foot, and then with a mighty stomp, the ground shot upwards, caving over and revealing a trapdoor leading downwards into the ground. It was a brilliant hiding spot, and one that no Firebender could get to.

"Come on," Au Ro popped open the trap door and began to climb down the ladder.

"Wait," Naheel stepped up, looking around the empty forest. "If that is the only entrance, how are we supposed to get out? None of us can earth bend."

"There are more than one entrance and exit," Aizan explained, following Au Ro down the ladder. "We'll show them all to you when we get down there."

I glanced at Kateri and Naheel, and slowly, they nodded. "Let's go," I told him gently, releasing his arm to head first down the stairs. He hadn't spoken at all since telling us that Au Ro was being honest. "I'll be right in front of you, and Kateri and Naheel are right behind you. You're safe."

My heart was hammering in my chest as I crawled down the lightless shaft. Ozai's dagger weighed heavily against my chest, and I reached for it immediately as my feet hit the floor and I looked around the massive room before me.

I was standing in what looked like an underground cave, except it was well illuminated with flaming torches spaced evenly throughout the walls. People dressed in the same red robes and tunics that Au Ro and his gang wore were staring at us in shock and disbelief, and I drew back, standing closer to Etka once he reached the ground.

"The exits, like we promised," Au Ro grabbed my attention once Naheel and Kateri made it down into the cavern too. "There are six in all. The one we went down is only accessible with an earth bender, but the other five are not." He began to give us a tour of the stronghold, showing us the living quarters, weapons rooms, planning rooms, and every way out that we came across.

I knew that he was doing this deliberately, and it made me feel more at ease. Naheel was certain to try every exit, to make sure it worked and went past his approval, and I felt a little safer, making emergency exit plans in my mind.

"I know that this might seem like a lot for you," Au Ro said, once the tour was finished. We sat down together in the dining hall, and food was brought forth. It was just then that I realized how hungry I was. I hadn't eaten a full, hot meal in ages, and it took everything that I had not to scarf down my meal in one bite. Kateri took up a swath of noodles in her chopsticks and took a sniff before tentatively placing them in her mouth, while Naheel began to hungrily eat. Etka did not touch his food.

"Our organization is part of an underground resistance movement," Au Ro explained. "Our goal is to overthrow the Firelord's reign and establish a democracy in the Fire Nation, as well as to liberate the Nation's colonies. We have informants everywhere, and this is not our only stronghold. We have a number of members in the Earth Kingdom as well. We can get you safely there, and on your way to freedom."

"That would be greatly appreciated," Kateri spoke up. "None of us can be seen in the Fire Nation until this war is over."

"You're right," Au Ro said. "And when you move locations, it has to be at night, and in disguise. I suggest picking out false names for yourselves as well. We were lucky to stumble across you today on a patrol." He paused, a smile seeping slowly across his face as he cast his hazel eyes at the small group of people that had been curiously following us during our tour. "Although, I must say, your story has spread like wildfire throughout our ranks. You, all of you, have become something like heroes to all of us."

"I'm not a hero," I said immediately. "I only tried to find Ozai because I wanted to know where my mother was. And even that...that failed." Kita...she seemed lost to me now. My last hope of finding her had been exhausted.

"But you stood down the Firelord!" Saeron, who had been tailing our group, sat down next to Au Ro. Nori and Aizan sat down beside her. "You battled him in front of thousands of people."

"I did that to save Etka," I said quietly. "And to protect Kateri and Naheel when they took him back to the Temple. If anything, they are the heroes, not me. Etka sacrificed himself so that I could live, and didn't betray me, even though it meant that he would have to die. Naheel saved Etka's life, both in getting him out of the Firelord's grasp, and by healing him. And I owe my life to Kateri." I looked over to her, and saw her staring hard at her food. "She came back to help me after Etka was safe, and prevented Ozai from killing me. I owe everything to them."

"That's true," Nori said. "But you're being too humble. You're a very powerful bender, Anahi. You risked yourself to save Etka, and fought off one of, if not _the_ most powerful fire bender."

"I had a great teacher," I said softly, looking over at Etka. He had not spoken, staying silent and expressionless by my side. His food remained untouched before him. Part of me wondered if what Au Ro was telling us was registering to him at all.

"Thank you for the food," I said, changing the subject quickly, placing my chopsticks down. Nori took my hint, and dropped the conversation, and Au Ro stood up.

"I'll have someone show you to your quarters," He said, nodding with Saeron. "Tomorrow, we can plan your move to the Earth Kingdom, but I imagine that you would like your rest."

"Thank you," I said, taking Etka by the hand.

"We'll meet you there," Naheel promised and Etka and I followed the young woman down the series of tunnel walls. Saeron's inky black hair was braided into two plaits that hung down her back and swung slightly when she walked, and I felt slightly mesmerized watching her hair as she led us to our rooms. I realized how exhausted I was, even though it was still morning.

"Here you are," Saeron said, extending her arm towards four rooms, right next to each other along the hall. "You can find any one of us in either the dining hall or the common area."

"Thank you," I bowed to her, and she did the same, before walking down the hallway again, her braids swaying across her back.

"Etka," I said softly, taking him into the closest room and shutting the door. He immediately went to sit down on the bed, and I sat beside him, reaching out and touching his cheek with hesitant fingers. "Can you hear me?"

He said nothing, his golden eyes staring deep into mine. My thumb traced the underside of his eye, softly trailing down his cheek. "Etka, what he said wasn't true," I said earnestly. "Whatever they told you in that cell, it was a _lie_. I _love_ you. They cannot take that away from you, _ever_."

A tear spilled over from his eye and began a slow descent down his cheek. He bowed his head, casting his eyes down, and another tear fell, striking my leg. "Un...forgivable," He said slowly, his voice shaking. "What I did to you...I'm unlovable - "

"Unlovable?" I cut him off, hurting now as well. What Au Ro said had undoubtedly triggered something that the prison guards had instilled inside him. What had they done to crush Etka this way?

"Etka," I said, my voice hardening up with emotion. "I love the man who spared the life of a sick, starving girl who had no place to go. I love the man who opened his home to me and patiently taught me fire bending. I love the man who saved my life in an Agni Kai, and I love the man who nursed me back to health again." I leaned in closer to him, drawing him gently into my arms. Etka was shaking against me.

"I love the man who took me to a ball, and who told me that he loved me under the light of the moon," I whispered, tears of my own beginning to form. "And I love the man that protected me, even when they hurt him because of my name. I love the man that took a flogging for me, and helped rescue me when the army attacked us at the Temple." I paused then, tears running down my face. "You deserve the world," I murmured. "But I can only give you my heart."

Etka was weeping softly, trembling, and I kissed him, my lips tasting the wetness of his tears. "Anahi..." He murmured, in between kisses. "I love you."

"It's over now," I assured him, stroking his cheek. "They can't hurt you anymore."

I held Etka in my arms and let him silently cry, until he fell asleep against my chest. I felt so sorry for him, but at the same time, a great sense of relief. He had come out of his self-isolation, and that, in the least, was a good thing. It would take a long time for his deep emotional wounds to heal.

Gently, I laid him down on the bed and placed a blanket over top of him. He needed his rest, perhaps, more than any one of us. I was tired too, but I needed answers.

I got up and left the room, searching out Au Ro. When I found him in one of the planning rooms, he looked up at me in a bit of surprise. "Do you have a minute?" I asked, and he nodded, motioning for me to join him.

"I need you to tell me what they did to Etka. All of it. I need to know how they hurt him."


	30. Chapter 29

Au Ro's face darkened, and he set down the brush in his hand. "You want to know?" He asked.

"I _have_ to know," I said fiercely. "No matter how hard it is. I have to know what they did to him."

Au Ro sighed, tilting his head to the door. "I wasn't there with him," He confessed. "And although I know a lot of what happened, I can't give you the whole story. Masao, however, can."

"Who is Masao?" I asked, and Au Ro led me from the room.

"He was one of our members imposing a guard while Etka was imprisoned," Au Ro explained. "He was able to sneak out of the palace and get back to us when Etka was taken out of the palace for the execution. You're lucky that he's here now."

He stopped along a row of rooms, much like the ones that we had been given, and stopped the nearest passerby. "Where is Masao?"

"In his room, sir," Came the reply, and Au Ro looked at me before knocking on the door.

"Masao," He called. "There's someone here who wants to speak to you."

The door opened, and a young man with long hair and a neat topknot appeared at the door. His resemblance to the average fire nation soldier was striking, the broad muscles, uniform hair and red tunic. He had no trouble fitting in amongst army ranks, I realized.

"This is Anahi," Au Ro introduced me, and I bowed politely to him.

"Anahi?" Masao repeated, in a bit of a shock, and then bowed to me as well. "It is an honor."

I brushed off his comment in shame and spoke my intentions. "I know that you were with Etka while he was being tortured," I said, and Masao's face darkened. "I need you to tell me what happened to him while he was imprisoned. Au Ro says that you can tell me what they did to him."

Masao was quiet for a while, and then beckoned us both in to his room, shutting the door. "It was horrible, only being able to stand by and watch as they tortured him," He said, running a hand down his face. "Have a seat. It's going to be hard to listen to."

"I don't care, I have to know," I pressed. "However horrible it is, I need to know what they did to him."

Au Ro and I took a seat on Masao's bed, and he sat in a chair across from us. He sighed deeply before he began, his face changing into a dark, sad expression.

"Etka was taken below the palace and into an interrogation chamber," Masao said. "They stripped him of his clothing and cut his hair. I don't know if you know this, but in our culture, when you cut your hair, it symbolizes a great loss or sorrow. By cutting his hair, the Fire Nation had only begun to take away his dignity." I thought of Kateri, and how she had cut her hair short as well. All of the things she had given up to be with us...

"They brought Etka into the interrogation chamber and chained his arms out to two pillars, like this," Masao continued, raising his arms. "He was forced to kneel the entire time, and he was totally defenseless. This was how they would interrogate him. They began by mocking him, spitting on his uniform, insulting his lineage. Quickly enough, the guards realized that this didn't phase him, and they turned to violence next. They would beat his sides with clubs, flogged him with a whip. At first, he was strong enough not to cry out in pain but...there's only so much a person can take. It was a great shame for him when they made him cry out the first time. They jeered and mocked him for that as well, and his sounds of suffering..." Masao stopped, collecting himself. "It was wretched. I will never forget that, as long as I live."

I remembered Etka telling me about an Agni Kai, how a cry of pain was a sign of weakness. I bowed my head, staring at my lap. How much did he have to endure for me?

"They told him that the beatings would stop, if he told them where you were. They told him that his honor would be restored, that he would be given a promotion if he talked, but Etka was too strong to take a simple bribe. They told him that all of his suffering would be over, that they would clean his wounds and feed him, that he would fall back into favor with the Firelord. These were all lies, of course, but even if Etka knew that, he wasn't going to betray you. He told the soldier in charge that they could kill him before he would speak against you, and I think that his captors took this as a challenge.

"They knew he was too valuable to kill, and they had to keep him alive, but they barely did that. He was never fed, and given little sips of water only when he slipped too far. The guards didn't let him sleep at all. At the end, he looked so weak and sick that I thought he really was going to die. I don't know how he withstood all of that abuse, I really don't."

"He loved you, Anahi," Au Ro spoke up. "His love for you was his strength."

I sighed, burying my face in my hands and exhaling loudly. _How did I deserve him? In what possible universe did I deserve this man?_

"That wasn't the worst of it," Masao went on, his voice eerily quiet now. "What nearly broke him, how they nearly cracked his will was the psychological torture. They had made sure that Etka hadn't slept, and he was weak from hunger as well. He was in so much pain, without any sort of release, and the guards knew this.

"You have to understand, they did this to him while Etka wasn't thinking clearly, he _couldn't_ think clearly. He was exhausted, and probably hallucinating a little bit. They _made_ him believe that you hated him for what he had done to you. They told him over and over again that he was unlovable, that what he had done was unforgivable. I think at this point, they knew that he wouldn't give in to them, and so they wanted to break his will. It was so terrible to watch. Etka was sobbing, his whole body shaking...They found his weakest point and exploited it. They made him believe that you hated him, that he had lost your love forever. After what he endured, I'm astonished that he can function at all."

I was silent for a long time, my head in my hands. What was in someone's heart that could make them act so cruelly towards another? Etka had given up his job, his standing, and was prepared even to lay down his life for me. Tears ran silently down my cheeks, and Au Ro offered me a handkerchief.

"Thank you for telling me this," I said somberly, after I managed to compose myself. I looked up at Masao intently. "I understand a little better now."

* * *

Kateri laid down on the bed on her side, her back to Naheel. She wasn't asleep. Her gaze was fixed hard on the wall, her eyes taking in the cool, almost damp stone that surrounded the room and mesmerizing every detail. She wanted to shut herself off for a day, a week, maybe even a year, and not feel any emotion at all. She wanted to dull the grief in her heart, until she felt nothing at all.

She wanted to forget.

"Kateri," Naheel said softly, placing his hand on her shoulder. Kateri winced. "Do you want to talk?"

There was a heavy silence in the room. "No," She said, shutting her eyes. "I don't want to talk about it ever again. I want to forget everything."

Naheel looked away, his face betraying his hurt. "You're in so much pain," He whispered. "I just wish that I could take it away."

Kateri rolled over, facing Naheel again. Part of her shorn hair fell in her face, and he brushed it away. "I do too," She said quietly, and allowed herself to be drawn into his arms.

She knew that Naheel only meant the best, but the pain of losing her Sisters, her home could not be relieved. Kateri buried her face in Naheel's shoulder, and he hesitated, surprised that she was allowing him to touch her. She had been so withdrawn since the fall of Kosumi Temple. Whenever Naheel had tried to comfort her, she pushed him away, again and again.

"I'm here for you," Naheel said gently, his hand running down her back. "Please don't forget that." The motion was comforting, and Kateri exhaled, breathing deeply.

"Thank you," She murmured, her face against his skin. Even a month ago, she would never have imagined herself in the arms of a man. As a Kosumi Sister, she was supposed to abstain from bonds with others from outside the temple. Relationships like these were forbidden, but Naheel was...different.

Kateri cared for him, and she cared for his sister too, and even Etka. The truth was, they were the first people who she had felt this way for - unlike any of the hundreds of refugees that the Temple harbored. She had found herself drawn to them, and now she couldn't bring herself to leave them.

The Sisters would have told her that she should have given them all up, that her relationships with them would only hurt her, but Kateri didn't feel that way. Shutting off the world wasn't the way to live. Love was. She had loved them, and by closing herself off from her pain and grief, she was only choosing to let them be forgotten.

She lifted her head and kissed his cheek, a soft tear rolling down from her cheek. Naheel's eyes opened, startled, and he looked down at her with a soft smile, gently touching her face and wiping the tear away with his thumb. He didn't say anything, and he didn't need to. Kateri already knew.

And even after he succumbed to a deep, tired sleep, she stayed awake, listening to his slow, quiet breaths and his heartbeat against hers.

* * *

Etka awoke early in the morning, or what at least, he thought was the morning, with Anahi beside him, fast asleep and curled up against his chest. Her hair was splayed out across the bed, and her fists were rounded against his tunic, like a small child's would be. To Etka, Anahi looked just as she did when she first met him, free from worry and full of happiness, hope. When she was awake now, it was different. Anahi didn't smile anymore, didn't laugh. Etka missed that.

He reached out with shaking fingers and touched her cheek, and she stirred slightly in her sleep, but didn't wake. He was reminded of their dream together, of a new life hidden away from the wrath of the Fire Lord. Etka allowed himself to imagine thousands of mornings, waking up to see Anahi next to him. He wanted to spend the rest of his life at her side.

He had to have courage and be strong now. Etka carefully got out of bed, as not to wake her, and found his way out of the room and down to the lavatories.

To his surprise, Au Ro was already there, washing his hands under a tap before a large mirror which was surprisingly clean. He looked up in surprise to see Etka standing there, and then smiled. "It's good to see you, Captain Song."

"I am not Captain Song anymore," Etka shook his head, making his way over to the tap and picking up a large wooden bucket, placing it underneath. "He died in the Capitol."

With a grunt and a twist, he turned on the tap, watching water flow into the bucket. Etka shed his tunic and placed it where it wouldn't get wet. "Just Etka, then?" Au Ro asked, reaching out and handing him a bar of soap.

"Just Etka," He gave Au Ro a smile and began to wash. Etka knew that he was trying not to stare at him, at the scars across his back and chest, and even in the mirror, Etka could see the own damage that had been done to his body. Even though the pain was mostly a dull ache now, he still looked as though he had been through hell.

He twisted around to clean his back, his fingers riding over the raised lash marks that traced over his skin like tiny rivers. They didn't hurt anymore, but their memory did.

_"I'll flay that tattoo off of your back, if you don't tell..."_

Etkaclosed his eyes wincing at the memory. It wasn't real, he told himself, exhaling. It was over now.

After he was done washing himself, Etka picked up the bucket and doused it over his front. The shock of the cold water was invigorating and drew away any remnants of sleep.

_"Here you go, _Captain_, how's about a bath?" The saltwater hit Etka's skin like a thousand shards of glass, and a wretched cry of anguish escaped him._

His body winced, remembering another time when he had been doused with water in this manner. The soldiers in charge of his interrogation had taken a large bucket full of saltwater after a beating and poured it over his skin. The salt had burned worse than anything that Etka had felt before, igniting even the tiniest cut in his skin.

Etka splashed his face with water again, shaking away the memory. He looked at himself in the mirror, at his rough, unshaven face, and his hair, still uneven and patchy.

"Au Ro," He called to the other man. "Do you have a razor I could borrow?"

_"Look at him now," The soldiers jeered. One held up Etka's face by his chin, forcing his head still as another took a knife and began to viciously saw off their prisoner's long, black locks. "What nice, long, beautiful hair you have, _Captain _Song!"_

_"_Here," Au Ro passed Etka the blade, and Etka began to cut his hair, evening out the jagged, uneven strands. His hair hadn't been this short since he was a very small child, but at least he looked passable now, and he would blend in better in the Earth Kingdom. Etka shaved his week-old stubble and rinsed the razor off before returning it to Au Ro.

"Thank you," He said, and Au Ro's lips pulled into a quiet, reserved smile.

"You look good," He said. It was sincere, and it made Etka feel good. Au Ro reached out and touched . "Come on, Etka. I can get you some fresh clothes."


	31. Chapter 30

**Thank you all so much for continuing to read this story! I know I haven't been updating as much as I would have liked too, but it really means a lot to me that there are still people who would read this, especially since this story has been going on for several months now. So thank you so much! Please enjoy **

* * *

I woke up to see Nori leaning over me, gently shaking my shoulder. Her typically calm and collected face and changed, and now her gaze was hard and urgent. "You need to get changed now," She said, and I sat up in bed, yawning. Yesterday's memories began to slowly trickle back, and I felt dejected.

"Where is Etka?"

"Don't worry, he's with Au Ro," Nori explained, holding up a set of dark green robes. "This is for you. It's been arranged for you to leave for the Earth Kingdom today, with Au Ro and Saeron."

My stomach rolled at the thought, and I got out of bed, fully awake now. I began to change out of my Fire Nation clothes, putting them neatly aside and sliding the green robes over my shoulders. They were bordered in a pale green swirling pattern, and I crossed the garment over my chest before tying a brown wrap around my waist to hold it in place. Nori looked me over, her eyes finding the dagger at my throat.

"The dagger has to go," She said sternly, and I instinctively wrapped my hand around the blade.

"No," I retorted, sliding it beneath my robes. "I won't part with this."

"It could easily betray you and your whole group if you were to be searched," She retorted, as I slid on my shoes. "It's dangerous."

"It's the only thing that I have of my mother," I said, although deep down, I didn't want to admit that she had a point. I stared her down, my eyes firm. "It stays."

Nori gave me a hard look and pressed her lips together. Thankfully, she dropped the matter, and escorted silently me from my room and down to the common area.

Naheel and Kateri were already there, dressed in typical Earth Kingdom clothing like I was. Kateri wore a pair of robes nearly identical to mine, while Naheel wore a green tunic and trousers. If I hadn't known them to be otherwise, they would have looked indistinguishable from any Earth Kingdom commoner to me. I sat down beside my brother as Au Ro entered the room, dressed in green robes and followed by Etka, who looked shockingly different.

He had bathed and shaved his face, which was now smooth and clean. His hair was cut so that it was now one even length, and he looked handsome in a short sleeved tunic and knee high boots. He gave me a small smile before taking his seat beside me, and I couldn't stop staring at him.

"Etka," I whispered. "You look great!" He passed a shy smile back at me in return, and I reached for his hand. Even in the present danger, I suddenly felt a massive surge of hope. We were all pulling ourselves together. We were going to get ourselves out of this.

Au Ro took the floor at the center of the room, and I saw that many of the same people who had originally found us had gathered around in the room as well. "Good morning, everyone," He began, looking around the room. He had a paper map in his hands, which he unrolled and tacked to the wall.

"This afternoon, we will be embarking on a covert operation to transport Anahi, Etka, Naheel, and Kateri to the Earth Kingdom. We will sail from here," He pointed at a section of the Fire Nation, and traced his finger across the ocean to the Earth Kingdom. "And land here. During this time, we will be passing a ship, containing members from our western Earth Kingdom stronghold, and we will stop halfway. Our refugees will board the Earth Kingdom ship, and both ships will subsequently turn around and head back into their original territories. You will be brought to the Earth Kingdom stronghold, and from there, you will be given what you need to successfully go undercover and disperse amongst the Earth Kingdom."

"This other ship..." Naheel muzed. "How can I know we'll be safe there?"

"This ship belongs to an affiliate group of ours," Au Ro explained, but Naheel cut him off, shaking his head.

"But how do we know that this ship won't just cart us straight into Fire Nation Prison?" Naheel persisted.

"We've already sent word to them, it's not like they won't know you're coming," Saeron said coldly, speaking up from her spot in the corner behind Naheel. "And if we wanted to hand you over to the Fire Nation, we would have done it by now. It would have been easy enough to do it while you were all sleeping."

Kateri gave her a hard look before turning towards Naheel. "We don't really have another option," She told us in a low murmur. "We can't stay in this compound...at least at sea, we have a chance of hijacking a boat and getting away from there."

I nodded and looked over at Etka, who nodded in turn. "Alright," He said, his voice low, and stood to face Au Ro. "What do we have to do?"

"You'll wear cloaks out of the compound, and we'll take you to the ship," He explained, as four long, crimson cloaks were handed out to each of us. I put mine on and pulled the hood over my head immediately. I liked it. I was anonymous.

"We've prepared provisions and supplies that you might need," Nori spoke up, handing us each a small satchel. "In case of an emergency."

"That should be everything," Au Ro said quietly, glancing around at all of us. "Is everyone ready?"

I glanced at Etka, who nodded firmly, and then at Naheel and Kateri, who nodded with the same resolute faces.

"Yes," I said, getting up to face him. "We're ready."

* * *

"We're going to be fine," Kateri said, staring hard at the door.

We had been hiding inside a tiny storage room, which was barely large enough to hold the four of us, for several long hours now. Thin streams of light filtered in between the boards composing the door, casting ribbons of color on everyone's faces. Each of us had taken a corner, and were as pressed up against it as much as possible. Even still, I could feel Naheel's breaths, standing parallel to me.

We had made the trip to the docks easily enough. My heart palpitated in terror as we passed the few Fire Nation soldiers posted near the docks. I was almost certain that we would be stopped, that we would be captured, but Saeron passed a small parcel of coins with a wink into one of the soldier's hands, and we were allowed through without inspection.

And now we were hiding in the dark, in case we were stopped for an inspection. Kateri had urged all of us to eat a little and drink something, but I was so nervous that I could barely stomach a few of the tasteless biscuits that were in my satchel.

"Yes," Naheel replied, his voice flat. He looked to Etka and I for approval, and Etka slowly nodded.

"It's just a little further we have to go," Etka said, and gave a small smile. "What's the first thing you all want to do when we get to the Earth Kingdom?" He asked, trying to lighten the mood.

"Well, I think we're going to go straight to the stronghold - " Kateri began, but Etka shook his head.

"After that," He said optimistically. "We won't be there for long, at least, _I_ don't plan to be. Kateri, what's the first thing you're going to do once we're in the Earth Kingdom?"

Kateri pressed her lips together in thought, trying to find a suitable answer. "I want to find a house," She said, then shook her head. "No, it doesn't even have to be a house. Just somewhere with a real bed, a warm, soft, safe bed. I'm going to take a long nap, and not have to worry about soldiers springing in on me while I sleep. That's what I want, just a good night's sleep, and not to wake up and feel exhausted all over again."

"That's a good plan," I grinned at her, and it was Naheel's turn next.

"I want to go back home," He said, sounding slightly remorseful, and I realized that I was homesick too. I hadn't seen my parents in over a year, and I was worried about them. "I miss my parents, and I miss my homeland. It's too hot for me up here." He chuckled, and I smiled.

"That's what I would do too," I said quietly. "I need to see my family again. It's been too long." There was a stagnant silence, and I felt suddenly that Naheel and I had said something too serious for the conversation's intent.

"What would you do, Etka?" Naheel asked him, breaking the stillness between us.

Etka opened his mouth to speak, his eyes finding mine, when a blast rocked the ship, and I instinctively grabbed onto the front of Etka's robes as the ship rolled against the force that stuck it. He reached around me and pressed one hand against the door, and the other around my waist, bracing himself against it. We all looked at each other, our faces conveying our sudden fear and panic.

"Stay behind me," Etka said darkly, and I slithered around him to stand next to Kateri. Naheel took my place and pressed his back against the door, digging his feet into the ground.

"What are you doing?" I hissed. "You're a waterbender. You won't be able to bend unless we get outside near the ocean."

"I'm bigger than you and Kateri," Naheel said darkly. "I can at least try to hold down the door."

Another blast threw Kateri practically to the floor, and I reached out and grabbed her by the arm just in time before she face planted into the floor.

"We're going to have to go out and fight," I said, half to myself. Already, my body was gearing up for battle, adrenaline flooding my veins and my breathing becoming shallow. Naheel reached out in the small space and laid a hand on my shoulder.

"You're going to stay here," He said gently. "I know you don't want to fire bend anymore, and I respect that. But against benders, Anahi...it's too risky. You're not even armed."

"Naheel is right," Kateri said, and we all heard shouts coming from the deck of the ship. There was no mistaking it, they were here for us. "You should stay here. We can handle it."

A protest lodged in my throat before I realized they were right. If I wanted to remain true to my vow, and I did, I would have to stay behind.

"Alright," I acquiesced, and Kateri sighed in resolve, looking at Etka and Naheel.

"Let's go," She said darkly, and kissed my brother on the cheek before shoving the door open herself and charging out. Naheel quickly followed her, and Etka paused in the doorway, looking hard at me.

"I love you," He said, leaning over and kissing my forehead. Abruptly, I grabbed him and kissed hard him on the lips, suddenly very afraid for his life. I hated not being able to be with him, and I feared for the worst.

"Come back to me," I told him, touching his face as I pulled away. Etka nodded, and ran towards the fight. I shut the door behind him and leaned against the back, sighing hard.

_I would never fire bend again._ Not after what I had done after Etka's rescue. That power inside me could only cause pain, it's only purpose was destruction. I lost control too easily, and what was to say that I wouldn't do that again? I could kill someone again without meaning too, and I could hurt someone that I loved if I lost my control.

But was I wrong to send my friends off into battle and stay back here to wait? Was I wrong to let them go off to die without me beside them?

I was the reason that the soldiers were here. Every one of the others were only wanted because they were helping me, and I was practically sacrificing my friends so that I could still live.

I heard a loud cry from above, undoubtedly from a young man, and I immediately thought of Naheel and Etka. _They could be dying, and I would be sitting in safety down here._

"This is wrong," I breathed, shaking my head. I stared through the cracks in the door, and swallowed. I braced myself, exhaling hard, and a small wispy burst of flame emerged from my lips. I had to go.

Breaking through the door, I bolted up the stairs, taking them two at a time until I reached the deck. At least forty soldiers had swarmed the deck, and I saw their ship nearby. My heart sank when I realized what had happened. Someone had betrayed us.

I spotted my friends and Au Ro fighting off a swarm of soldiers, who were beginning to corner them. The soldiers had their backs to me, and with a loud cry, I leapt up into the air, executing a roundhouse kick of fire that whipped across a row of soldiers and knocked them down.

They had spotted what they had come to see now, and half of them began to turn towards me. Kateri took their distraction as an opportunity to fire bolts of lightning at the soldiers, knocking some overboard.

"I'm what you want!" I yelled, smacking my chest, taunting them. "Come on!"

It came to me then that we had been betrayed. How could we have been found out any other way? The ship hadn't been searched after we had left, and there was no way someone would have known we were here without an insider's betrayal. Anger and pain filled up inside me, and I grit my teeth, preparing to fully unleash my power.

I shot a bolt of flame at the nearest soldier, spotting Etka in an intense hand to hand combat with what appeared to be the Captain. "Etka, let go!" I screamed, and raced towards him. Startled, Etka did exactly as I asked, and I seized the Captain by the back of his robes and threw him down on the deck in a burst of strength.

Not wasting any time, I jumped onto his chest and dug my knees into his lungs. I drew back my arm, a burst of flame appearing around my fist.

"Who told you we were here?" I demanded, and when the Captain struggled out a response, the flame flared up larger.

"It was the girl you were with!" He cried out in panic, his eyes wide. "S - Saeron! She left a note in the bag of coins she paid the officers at the docks!"

"Where is she?" I cried, my blood boiling in rage. Beside me, Etka knocked back a soldier making her way towards me, flipping her over his shoulder and tossing her into the sea.

"On the ship...our ship!" The Captain struggled, gasping for breath under my weight. I looked up at Etka, my eyes wild.

"_Saeron_ betrayed us," I said vehemently, but the minute I took my concentration off of the Captain, he kicked up at me, throwing me off of him. I landed hard against the wall of the ship, teetering dangerously close to the edge. I cried out in pain, my back aching with a powerful ache. Etka sprung to my defense, and blasted the Captain from behind as I picked myself up.

"Go!" He shouted, and my eyes flickered over towards the Fire Nation ship. "You can take them, Anahi! Go and find Saeron!"

I nodded at him, and began to run down the length of the ship, my heart racing with adrenaline and rage. It occurred to me that my fire bending was the strongest at this point, when I was full of pain and rage, and I remembered Etka saying a long time ago that my anger was the source of my power. What could I say? I was my father's daughter.

The warship's hull was still embedded in our side, and I did a running leap, shooting bolts of fire from my hands to project me onto the deck. I landed running, and soldiers raced at me instantly. With twin blasts, I knocked them back. "Saeron!" I screamed, my voice hoarse and raw as I ran across the ship's deck, combating the few soldiers still left aboard. I grabbed one by the collar and demanded to know where she was, and when he didn't answer, I threw him back against the others.

"Where is she!?" I screamed at them, my voice ragged with the threat of tears. I couldn't believe this. We had all been so close. We had all been so full of hope.

I saw the eyes of the soldier who I had thrown against the deck widen too late at the sight behind me, and I was struck hard in the back by a massive bolt of lightning.

I was thrown to the ground, my body convulsing as Saeron appeared over me, blue lightning pulsing from her fingertips. It felt as though every nerve, every atom inside me had been split open, and my body was burning up from the inside. Unable to speak, I stared up at her, my eyes wide in pain and something else... Fear.

I was utterly powerless. I couldn't even stand, much less do anything to defend myself. My mouth was open in a harrowed, guttural scream of pain, and my eyes pleaded with her to stop.

"Not so tough now?" Saeron smirked, as I twitched on the ground before her, every breath, every stretch of my lungs, painful. "You can take out the soldiers on my ship, but you're weak to my lightning. What, did Etka not teach you about this? A true bender would know how to redirect it."

Rage stirred in my heart, and I grit my teeth, struggling to compose myself. "Release...me..." I forced the words out, my whole body shaking.

Saeron laughed, mocking me. "Pitiful."

"And I'll...show you...a true...bender," I finished, and Saeron's eyes flared. Suddenly, she stopped, and the lightning that had trapped my body in convulsions began to fade. It took me a solid thirty seconds before I realized that it was gone, but the pain still stayed.

"Show me, _Anahi_," Saeron snarled. "Show me how _great_ you are."

I cried out, trying to blast a burst of flame at her, but I was so weak, nothing at all came from my clenched fist. "No..." I breathed, trying to strike again, but it was fruitless. I couldn't fight her. Saeron's lightning had taken all of my strength.

She grabbed me by the front of my robes and dragged me up from the ground. I wanted to knock the triumphant smile from her face. "You know, this was almost too easy," She leered. "Your pride is too great _not_ to come after me. I'll collect an even greater reward from the Fire Lord when I bring you back to the Capitol."

I opened my mouth to spit an insult back in her face, but instead, my brother's voice filled the deck of the ship.

"Get your hands off my sister, you bitch!" Naheel roared, catching Saeron by surprise. Saeron dropped me, and I hit the deck as my brother hit Saeron full force with a blast to the chest. She was thrown against the wall of the cabin with a loud thud, and snarled, recovering fast enough to send a bolt flying Naheel's way.

"Kateri!" He yelled, beginning to duel Saeron. His arms were concealed by huge vessels of water, and he was using them like twin swords to combat Saeron. "Get her out of here!"

Kateri rushed to my side, picking me up. "Can you walk?" She cried. She was bleeding from her forehead, and she was breathing hard.

I looked up to see a third ship come up towards us, and collide directly into the side of the warship. The impact knocked me out of Kateri's arms, and before I could answer, I began was thrown off the deck of the ship, which was nearly on its side. My fingers clawed at the metal of the ship, and unable to find the strength nor surface to pull myself up, I fell into the sea.

I hit the water and was plunged underneath. I had no strength to push myself back up to the surface again. I watched the hull of the ship rise past my vision as I sank deeper into the water, as my lungs screamed for air and my vision began to blur.

My friends were fighting up there, and dying up there. Frantically, I tried to swim upwards, but I was choking on the water in my lungs, and with each frenzied push, my vision blurred even more and more. My reserves were gone, and I was sinking fast.

This was how it ended. A betrayal that would cost my life. Part of me felt angry and hurt, but a tiny voice whispered in the back of my mind as my blood vessels constricted, lack of oxygen shutting my body down. _Let it go. _

I closed my eyes.

* * *

"It's - It's not working!"

"Try _harder!"_

"I am!" I heard an agonized shout, and felt a breath of air rush through my lungs, filling my chest, followed by another.

My eyes snapped open, and I felt seawater rise up my throat. "Turn her on her side," I heard a gentle voice, and felt hands push and turn me over before I vomited seawater onto the wooden deck.

"Anahi!" Etka cried out, and before I even got a few decent breaths in, water running from my chin, I felt him pick me up and crush me into his chest.

"Don't hurt her!" Came a weak protest, but Etka clung to me like a child would a beloved doll, burying his face in my neck.

"I thought you had died," He breathed, his face wet with tears. I pulled away from him to see a distraught face transform. "I thought that I had lost you."

"Can't get rid of me that easily," I said drily, and he kissed me, holding my face as if it were made of glass.

When we broke apart, I saw that we were surrounded by people. Kateri was hugging Naheel, who looked exhausted and relieved. I was offered a blanket, and only when I wrapped it around my shoulders did I realize how frigidly cold I was. "Naheel tried to resuscitate you for five minutes after he pulled you out of the water," Etka said, curling me tightly in his arms. I clung to him for warmth and safety. Was he saying that I had been dead?

"Thank you," I reached across and took my brother's hand, meeting his eyes. He smiled at me, squeezing my hand hard in return.

"What happened?" I asked, looking around at the ship. Across from ours, the warship had disappeared, and the ship we had fled the Fire Nation from was turned over on its side, drifting away as we sailed off into the open ocean. "Where is Saeron?"

"Naheel and Kateri defeated her," Etka said quietly. "The ship from the Earth Kingdom met us and they saved us. We won't have to worry about them again."

I wanted to pry more, but by Etka's face, I knew that it was not something that he further wanted to discuss.

"We still have a ways to go before we reach the Earth Kingdom," Kateri said, meeting Naheel's and Etka's gaze. "But, ah, Anahi, there's something that you need to see."

"What is it?" I asked, alarmed by her tone, and Etka helped me to stand, turning me around so I faced the crew of the Earth Kingdom. I clutched his arm for stability, as Naheel and Kateri stood up beside me.

A woman stepped out of the crowd, wearing a belted green tunic. A steel greatsword hung from her back, and her black hair was streaked with grey in the single braid that ran down her back. She wore knee-high boots that were flecked with blood, and sported a cut on her arm that had been wrapped with cloth through the sleeve of her tunic. The resemblance to an Earth Kingdom native ended there. Her eyes were gold, like mine and Etka's, and I was hit was a realization so powerful, my knees buckled under me, and Naheel had to grab my other arm to keep me standing. I grabbed Etka's hand in a crushing grip.

It was as if I had looked into a mirror of the future, and saw myself aged around twenty years. I breathed in sharply, my hand going right to the dagger around my throat and pulling it out from my robes.

"Anahi," The woman said gently. I felt tears come to my eyes, and my throat was choked up. I couldn't speak. This couldn't be real. "My name is Kita, and I'm your birth mother."

I stared at her in complete shock. I had thought about this moment for months and months. All sorts of fantasies about my real mother had played out in my mind but I had never imagined this moment playing out in this way. My mother...the _warrior_...had been a part of our rescue, _she_ had helped save us.

"Mom..." I breathed, still holding onto Etka's hand as I took a shaky step towards her, and then another.

"I-I never thought that I would see you again," She breathed, and I let go of Etka's hand, and ran into her arms.


	32. Chapter 31

I didn't want to leave Kita's side. I had so many questions for her, but nearly all of them were frozen in my throat as she told me her story. We were seated by a fire in the Earth Kingdom stronghold, wearing clean, dry tunics and trousers and sipping tea that Kateri had brought us. She, Etka, and Naheel were sitting far enough away to give us privacy, but close enough for security. For the first time in a long time, I felt secure, and oddly enough, at home.

My mother told me her story. After she had given birth to me, she had begged my parents, Nasuh and Sukah, to take me in. She explained in a patient, gentle voice that there was no possible way she could have kept me, that she feared that she would die soon and that I would have no one. Even though Nasuh and Sukah already had a young baby of their own at the time - my brother Naheel - they agreed to take me in. And then, fearing for my family's lives if she were discovered with them, Kita left the Water Tribe, and snuck her way into the Earth Kingdom.

She was weak, and still recovering from giving birth, but stealing some and going without, she eventually found a village that was welcoming enough, and found work at a tavern there.

From the tavern, my mother heard all sorts of stories, and tried her best to eavesdrop on the many travelers who passed through the inn for news of the Fire Nation, and of course, of my father. It was this way that she heard of his marriage, and the births of his two children, Zuko and Azula. Part of her longed for news about me, but the other part told her than no news was good news. Every day, she worried if I had been discovered, if my new family had been killed.

She lived like this for years, until one day, someone who worked for the strong hold came into the tavern. Kita had overheard him mention the fire nation, and her connection into the secret organization, called the Democratic Alliance, had begun.

Her pain and anger at the Fire Nation only began to grow as more atrocities of what the military had done came through and spread through the ranks. Kita reinvented herself, training and practicing every day without yield. By the time she was thirty, she was accomplished in the use of the great sword and accompanied members of the Alliance on missions against the Fire Nation.

Informants in the Fire Nation had passed rumors and other news along to the Earth Kingdom stronghold, and the story of a girl claiming to be the daughter of the Fire Lord spread like wildfire. "I knew it was you right away," Kita told me, pride filling her voice. "They spoke of a young woman who's firebending was almost as strong as the Fire Lord's. They told us how you faced down with him and survived. But after the Kosumi Temple was razed to the ground, we - "

"Wait, what?" I cut her off, my eyes going over to my group sitting in the corner. Naheel's eyes widened, and he looked at Etka in alarm. I looked back at Kita, who looked surprised and concerned.

"Did - did you not know?" She asked, getting up with me.

"She was knocked out in a blast," Etka said gently, his eyes finding mine. The whole room seemed to spin. "Kateri carried her out of the Temple when we made our escape."

"No!" I cried, gripping the edges of the table. "The Temple... The Temple is gone?"

My eyes found Kateri's, and I saw the true pain and hurt held inside them for the first time. She wasn't depressed because she had to leave her home. She was grieving for the home that had been destroyed. She nodded slowly. I understood.

The magnitude of the situation began to sink in. The Fire Nation had attacked the Temple to get to me, and they had razed it to the ground, likely killing hundreds to get to me.

"Oh my God..." I sank to my knees, covering my face with my hands. I was physically shaking with the shock. Etka reached out to comfort me, and I pushed him away. "How could you not tell me?!" I demanded, tears running down my face. "How could you?"

"We knew you would be upset," Etka said gently, kneeling down in front of me. "We knew that you would want to go back and turn yourself in. We thought it would be best if you didn't know."

"You didn't want me to go back?" I demanded, getting up. "That's exactly what I _need_ to do!"

_"No_, Anahi," Kateri got up suddenly, knocking back her chair. She spoke with such commanding severity that I stopped in my tracks. "Don't you understand?" She got up and crossed over to me, her eyes red with anger and hurt. "The Sisters knew who you were. _I_ told them. They were prepared to protect you. They were ready to defend the Temple with their lives, Anahi. We all were."

"They _died_ because of me," I said severely, tears running down my face. "Hundreds of innocent people died because of _me_ \- "

"And if you go back to the Fire Nation now, they will have died in vain!" Kateri snapped. I felt the fight leave me at once, and I turned away from her. "You don't get it, do you? What Ozai did to you, did to _Etka_, was wrong! Does the _torture_ he went through mean nothing to you?"

_"No_, I - "

"He did that for _you_, Anahi!" Angry tears rolled down Kateri's cheeks, and her face was twisted in frustration and pain. "Etka suffered for _three days_ under Ozai's fist and was about to be put to death so that you could live! Are you just going to throw that away?

"Your brother came all the way from the Water Tribe to find you, Anahi," Kateri continued, and I stood frozen before her. Her words were like knives in my chest. "He traveled for _months_ trying to find you, to bring you home to your parents who were worried to death about you. Your parents, who risked everything raising an orphaned Fire Nation baby in the _Water Tribe,_ of all places. Naheel was attacked and beaten half to death before sneaking into the Fire Nation. Did he tell you that?"

"Naheel?" I turned to my brother, and by his pained face, I knew right away that it was true.

"I didn't want to upset you," He said, pulling open his tunic to show a stab wound in his chest, the size of a knife's blade. I gasped, stepping backwards. This was too much.

"And your mother!" Kateri shouted, extending a harsh finger at Kita behind me. "Your mother, who was exiled from her homeland, who was pregnant and terrified. She traveled all across the world to find a safe place to have you. She risked _everything_ for you Anahi! She loves you more than anything else on the planet! Etka loves you, Naheel loves you, and I love you! How can you say that you need to turn yourself in to Ozai after everything that we've done for you? How can you throw away what we've sacrificed for you ?"

Tears were running down my face, and I was floored. I was shaking, gasping with sobs. "I'm sorry...I'm sorry," I stammered, looking at all of them. "I'm so sorry..." I turned away from all of them and ran from the room.

* * *

It was my brother who found me sitting outside, staring over the walls of the stronghold at the rich forest beyond us. I had been alone with my thoughts for hours, watching the sun sink deep into the horizon. Kateri's words had settled deep inside me, and I realized how much I had hurt everyone in that room. I didn't mean to shame the ones that I loved. I thought that my death would right the losses that the Kosumi Sisters paid with their lives, but in my pain and sadness, I had forgotten all that the others had done for me. I didn't know how I would redeem myself to them for that, or if I ever could.

"She's not angry at you, you know." I looked up to see Naheel bend and sit down beside me, looking out over at the sunset. "Kateri's been dealing with a lot since we left the Fire Nation, and she's tried to close herself off, shut her feelings away. I think...in a weird sort of way, that was her release."

I turned to look at him. "I didn't mean to dishonor anyone," I said urgently. "I was upset...and angry with myself and my father. And I understand why you didn't tell me. Are Etka and my mother upset with me?"

"No," Naheel said gently, and I breathed a sigh of relief. "They understand. You've been through a lot too."

"Naheel," My eyes went to his chest, where the stab wound was. "What happened to you?" My brother sighed deeply, and met my eyes.

"When I was following your trail, I was in the Earth Kingdom, and I had stopped in a bar, a really shady sort of place, but it was the only one around, you know?" Naheel explained. "And of course, I gave a description of you and asked if they had any leads. Some guys in there figured out pretty quickly that I was a foreigner, and I was dumb enough to follow them outside. They tried to mug me and I fought back. I...I got it pretty bad, and I would have bled to death if I hadn't been found by this old man, who took me back to his house.

"As it turns out, he was a waterbender too," Naheel said, smiling a little. "His village had been attacked, and he was hiding in the Earth Kingdom. I would have died had he not been there, Anahi. He saved me, and he taught me almost everything that I know about water bending. I stayed with him until I was well enough to keep looking for you. That's the whole story."

"I'm sorry," I breathed, staring his chest. How badly had it hurt to get stabbed? How much pain had he gone through that I could have prevented?

"In a way, that was the best thing that ever happened to me," Naheel said, giving a sad little smile. "I learned water bending from a master, and I was able to go on and find you because of it."

"You're such an optimist," I chided him, looking down at my lap. "I don't know how you do it."

"I have a lot to live for," Naheel said, smiling contentedly. Behind him, I saw Etka, Kateri and Kita come up the steps, their faces bathed in the light of the falling sun. I knelt down to bow as they approached, bowing my head

"I'm so sorry," I said, closing my eyes. "My words were the result of my shock and dismay, and I didn't mean to make light of what - "

"Anahi," Etka took my face in his hands, kneeling before me as well. I was taken aback by the forgiveness and peace in his eyes, his smile, that my apology froze in my throat. "It's alright. We understand."

I smiled at him, and Etka slid his hands into mine, pulling me up from the ground. He drew me into his arms, and I embraced him, hugging him close. "It's all over," He murmured, kissing my forehead. "We made it. We're safe."


	33. Chapter 32

**Hello everyone! I just wanted to let you know that I added something at the end of last chapter which was going to be in this one. It just fit better in the past chapter so if you haven't seen it, you might wanna check it out! Also, I know that this story was originally rated T but I'm gonna change it to M because there is going to be a kind of explicit sex scene in this chapter. I don't feel like I'm very good at writing them, but I wanted to put it in so what the hell. If you're not about that, just skip it. Thank you for still reading this! This story is almost at 10,000 views, which I can't believe. Thank you so much!**

* * *

We set sail for the Southern Water Tribe the following day. Kita, Kateri, Naheel, Etka and I all boarded a large ship with provisions long enough to last us a month at sea, and set sail. Naheel had experience navigating, and Etka had been in the Navy for many years, and they were largely responsible for keeping the ship on its course. I was both excited and nervous at the same time, but I allowed myself to feel completely safe, even though there were bounties on our heads a mile high. I was in the company of some of the strongest warriors I knew, and we had escaped the Fire Nation and the clutches of my Father. We had done it. They couldn't catch us now.

I was going home.

As the days out at sea ticked by, I spent almost all of my time with Kita. I told her about my Water Tribe family while Naheel tried to navigate the ship under the map of stars while the rest of us huddled around blankets during a particularly cold night. I told her about discovering my true identity as we prepared lunch together in the tiny kitchen and I made a tiny fire with my fingers to cook the vegetables. Kita was eager to listen, and she wanted to know everything about my life apart from her.

On a simmering hot day, everyone was lounging out on the deck, and Naheel was bending water up from the sea to cool us off with. He kept splashing Kateri when she let her guard down, resulting in her startled cries of protest and mock threats of electrocution. Ever since her outburst in the Earth Kingdom compound, Kateri had changed. She had been suppressing her feelings for so long that it had taken its toll on her. Now, she was beginning to let go of her grief, and beginning to smile again, to laugh with my brother. It was nice to see.

"You better not splash me," Etka told Naheel, grinning and making his way up the mast to adjust a sail. I was watching him nervously as he climbed higher and higher up the pole. The sun was so strong that he had reluctantly taken off his tunic, and I was surprised that he would go that far. The scars on his back were still clearly visible, and I wondered how much pain he was still in.

Still, it was a pleasant surprise to see him like this. I had expected him to want to hide the evidence of his pain, but here he was, doing his job with his scars out in the open. His confidence was emerging once more, and I liked this.

I was sitting with Kita on the deck, enjoying a snack and the hot sun on my skin. Kateri was by my brother, and they were speaking in low voices, casting secretive glances at the rest of us and hiding back smiles behind hands. "You better not be plotting something," I chided, tipping my head back and staring at them from upside down.

"It's nice to see you all more laid back," Kita commented, and I lifted my head back up to face her. "I got the feeling it's been pretty tense for a while."

"Yeah," I replied, looking up at Etka, who was fiddling with the ropes up by the sail. I gave a nervous chuckle, tossing my head back down to my lap and making myself look at Kita again. I had that familiar light-headed feeling at seeing Etka shirtless and soaking wet. "He's making me nervous up there."

She gave me a knowing smile, her eyes flicking up towards him and then back at me. "How long have you known Etka?" She asked.

"For almost a year now," I said, although it seemed as though it had been longer. With everything Etka and I had gone through, it felt as though I had known him for a lifetime. "When I met him, he was a Captain in the Fire Nation Navy, and he taught me how to fire bend. I knew nobody in the Fire Nation when I arrived, and he took me in. I lived with him, and...and, ah..." I froze, suddenly realizing that I had no idea how to explain my relationship with Etka to my mother. I wasn't even sure if Naheel knew the extent of it. How was I supposed to explain to her that I had been sleeping with a man whom I wasn't married too? In the water tribe, that was a big taboo, and I had no idea how my mother would react if I told her.

"I can tell that he deeply cares about you," My mother said with a quiet smile. "I can see the way the you look at each other. I knew what that was like...a long time ago."

Suddenly, my mind flashed to Ozai, and every dream, every imagination I'd had of him and my mother flashed before my eyes. And how strikingly similar were our stories? A girl from humble beginnings falling for the dashing, handsome man of power and wealth. But Ozai had done nothing to protect my mother, and had allowed her to be exiled from the Fire Nation. Etka wasn't like Ozai...Etka was nothing like him.

"What was he like?" I asked tentatively, wondering if I was overstepping my bounds. "My - my father, Ozai."

Kita chuckled, rolling her eyes. "I was young and naïve," She said dismissively. "He was regrettably handsome and I fell for him. When Ozai realized that I had feelings for him, we began to see each other in secret. I loved him...at least, I thought I did. It all happened so fast, Anahi, you have to understand that. I was aware of his engagement at the time, but sleeping with him...it felt so right. I thought - mistakenly - that he would stay with me if I did. Obviously, that didn't happen, and when I found out I was pregnant with you, he did nothing to protect me. I realized then that it was never love, it was about power. Ozai could have any girl he wanted, and he wanted me."

"I'm sorry," I said quietly, watching Etka climb down the mast. What my mother had said had upset me, and this new revelation about my father had resonated with my relationship with Etka. Why had I slept with Etka? Was it because we both genuinely loved each other, or was it because it was easy for him, because I was impressionable and had been caught up in the moment?

Etka reached the bottom and wiped the sweat from his brow. "Hey Etka, you hot?" Kateri called out.

"Yeah, actually, I - " He lifted his head up was promptly struck in the chest by a blast of water from Naheel. I snorted in laughter, and Etka looked up, biting back a retort under a smile.

"I'll get you back," He teased, trying not to laugh. "Both of you." He slicked his hair back, soaking wet and tried to brush off the water from his chest with his hands.

"Etka is nothing like your father," Kita said, her laughing expression falling more serious. "I can tell that I've upset you by what I've just said. Remember that. I know what he went through while Ozai had him imprisoned and awaiting his execution, and it takes strength and an awful lot of love to endure that." My mother grasped my hand tightly and looked me hard in the eyes.

"Don't doubt him because of what I said about Ozai," She said firmly. "Ozai betrayed my trust, and Etka was willing to die before he betrayed you."

I bowed my head, squeezing her hand back. "I know," I said quietly, now feeling ashamed that I had even made the comparison between the two. Etka looked over at the two of us, and I got up, smiling, and went over to him.

"Come on," I told him with a smile, drawing close and casting a mischievous look at Naheel and Kateri. "Let's get them back."

* * *

Our voyage continued on for days, and as the weather continued to grow cooler, and the days shorter, I realized that we were drawing closer and closer to the Southern Water Tribe. We hadn't packed much of the warm furs and parkas we would need for the cooler weather, and I knew that I would have to rely on my parents to supply them.

I began to increasingly worry about my reception home. I had no doubt about Naheel - he certainly hadn't run away from home with little more than a note left behind - but who knew what sort of graces I would fall back into with my parents?

I was sitting on the bow of the ship with Etka, starting the first watch together as the sun dipped into the sky. I was wearing one of his cloaks wrapped around my shoulders and sat in his lap. The incredible glory of the stars lay mapped out above us, and Etka was explaining the constellations to me, showing me how to navigate the seas by means of the stars. Most of what he was saying went far over my head, but I loved listening to him talk about what he was passionate about, smiling as he pointed out paths of stars.

"When I was younger, my parents would sometimes take me with them on expeditions," Etka explained, his voice in a low whisper. "I would sit with my father on the deck of the ship, like this, and he'd tell me about the stars and the moon." Etka paused, and was quiet for a long time. I didn't dare speak. "I think they would have liked you a lot, Anahi," He said quietly. "Sometimes, I wonder if they're proud of me for doing the right thing, or if they think that I've dishonored them and shamed the whole family."

"I know how you feel." I had thought the same about my family. I had thought this for every day I since I had left home. "If it makes you feel better, I think that you did the right thing."

He laughed drily and rested his chin on the top of my head. "Thanks," He murmured, wrapping his arms around me and swaying gently from side to side.

"Hey Etka," I said softly. "When we were on the ship to the Earth Kingdom, do you remember when you asked us about the first thing we'd do when we got to safety?"

"Yes?"

"Before you could say what you would do, the ship was attacked," I said. "What were you going to say?"

Etka lifted his head from the top of mine and I turned in his arms to look up at him. He exhaled into a nervous smile and bit his lower lip. "I thought that we were all going to die then," He said coyly. "And now we aren't. I'll tell you when I'm ready."

B

"That's not fair!" I exclaimed, pouting.

"It is fair," Etka grinned, leaning back and lying down on the deck of the ship. I leaned on top of him, placing my arms by the sides of his head. I looked down at him, my hair falling down against his chest.

"Hmm," I smirked, leaning closer to him. "That's interesting."

"I guess so," Etka returned, and I kissed him. His hands slid up my thighs, and I pulled open his tunic, my kisses falling past his lips and down his neck. He lifted me closer to him and I flexed my thighs as I straddled him, holding onto him tighter.

"I love you," He murmured, his voice low. Kissing him still, I let go of him and began to disrobe, opening up my long dress and sliding it off of my shoulders. The night air was cooler than I expected, resulting in goose bumps and chills all along my exposed skin. I cast my robes aside, now completely naked, and Etka reached up, wrapping his arms around me and drawing me against him. He broke our kiss to bury his face in my neck, his teeth finding my skin. Breathing in sharply, a low moan escaped my lips, and my fingernails ran up Etka's back, leaving little red trails under the skin. He began to leave a wake of little purple marks along my neck, his face gently caressing my neck as he went.

He was fiddling with his pants underneath me, sliding them off while still lying down. Etka's face was flushed, and his steady breathing was hot on my neck, and when I shifted downwards, I felt him hard against my thigh. "Are you ready?" He asked me, his golden, half-lidded eyes watching me with heightened anticipation.

"Yes," I murmured. "Are you?"

"Please," Etka moaned, and I began to ride him, turning my hips against his. His kisses filled my lips, and I realized that I was no longer thinking, the heat between us guiding our movements. It had been so long...

Etka was audibly in pleasure, and I laid a hand on his shoulder, my whisper breathy and excited. "Someone's going to hear us."

"Let them," Etka replied, leaning up to kiss me. His grip on my hips suddenly tightened, and his rapid, shallow breathing increased, and he arched his back against the wooden deck.

"Oh spirits..." He moaned, clenching his eyes shut and digging his fingers into my skin as he came inside me. I stopped, sitting up on top of him and closing my eyes, relaxing off of his lap as he sank back down to the ground.

"Ohhh, Anahi," Etka sighed, and turned over to me. We lay side by side, and he pulled himself to his knees. A thin layer of sweat had glossed over his skin, and he seemed radiant in the moonlight. He slid his way over so that he was kneeling between my legs. I smiled triumphantly down at him, and Etka ran two hands down my thighs, letting his cheek rest just below my knee.

"You're perfect," He murmured with a lazy smile, still on his post-sex high.

"You're not so bad yourself," I teased back, and he moved his hands down the inside of my thighs, gently gliding his hands down the middle and spreading my legs.

"We'll see," Etka murmured, lowering himself on all fours before me and sliding his head between my legs. My body stiffened in excitement, and when I felt Etka's tongue inside me, I couldn't resist a small cry of pleasure.

His hands found my chest, his lips sucked and pulled, his tongue rolled, and his eyes never left mine, not once. My fingers dug into his hair, and I slowly allowed myself to let go, to let him pleasure me and bring me to climax. Struggling not to be heard by the rest asleep only just below deck, my cries of pleasure were restrained to small moans under closed lips.

"Etka... Etka..." I chanted his name in a breathy moan, my legs tensing and kicking out as I tried to shake this feeling out of my body. My fingers twisted around his hair, pulling hard as I reached my peak. It had to have hurt him, but Etka said nothing.

"Oh, fuck!" I cried out, my voice echoing across the deck as I climaxed, and Etka raised his head, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. My head rested back against the deck, and I stared at the stars as I slowly came back down to Earth. "Thank you," I breathed, my voice weak, and Etka drew up beside me, sliding his robes over his shoulders. I picked up my discarded robes and loosely wrapped them over my chest, then taking Etka's head in my arm and holding him close to my heart.

It didn't take long for him to fall asleep, his chest slowly rising as mine fell. I felt so content with him beside me. We were safe now. We would always be safe. I leaned back against the mast, sleep nearly winning the battle for me too. My fingers wove themselves through his hair as I looked out over the deck of the ship and then back down at him. He looked so peaceful when he slept, the worries he held and the strength he maintained melting away. His mouth hung slightly open, and his naked chest slowly rose and fell against mine.

I rubbed my eyes, the threat of sleep nearly taking me over, when I saw a faint white sliver in the distance. It must just be an iceberg, I thought, but as we drew nearer and nearer, I realized that it couldn't be. My heart kickstarted, and a massive grin spread across my face.

"Land!" I shouted, which startled Etka awake. He nearly shoved me off of him in his efforts to get up quickly, but I was so excited that I didn't care.

"What's going on?" He looked around, still under the daze of sleep.

"Etka!" I grabbed him by the hands and swung him around deck. "We've reached land!"

**Please leave a review!**


	34. Chapter 33

"Wake up!" I burst into the cabin where everyone else was staying. Etka and I had long since passed the regular change in shifts, and everyone was still fast asleep.

Kateri bolted awake with a start, jumping out of bed and throwing the blankets off of her. "What is it?!"

"Land!" I exclaimed, moving to rouse my brother. "We've reached land!"

"We're here?" Naheel asked, pulling a blanket over his shoulders. His eyes went to the loose robe I had sloppily tied around myself, and he took off the blanket and gave it to me.

"Bundle up, guys," He said, grabbing another blanket and making his way up on deck. I followed him, and saw him throw it at a shirtless Etka who was struggling to grab all of our clothes in time.

"Make yourself look presentable," Naheel grumbled, passing Etka to make his way towards the sails. "You're going to meet her parents." Etka bowed his head and passed me on his way back below deck to change, and I got the feeling that Naheel knew exactly what we had done.

We sailed along the coastline as the sky began to fade into a brilliant dawn. Naheel's discontent didn't last for long, and he and I began to recognize landmarks we had seen so many times before. I kept grabbing Etka by the sleeve and pointing out a great fishing spot, or hunting ground, or the place where Naheel and I went penguin otter sledding as children.

Suddenly, we saw the gentle plumes of smoke rising into the early morning dawn, and my heart swelled with happiness. "That's it!" I cried, tears welling up in my eyes. "That's my village!" I wrapped Naheel in a tight hug, and I knew he was glad to be back too.

The white igloos and snow covered houses visible from the shore, and the fleet of fishing boats running parallel to the docks that bordered the village. They patiently sat along the harbor patiently, ready for the day. Never had I been so glad to feel the cold air on my face, to have the icy wind cut through my clothes like a knife. This was my home. This was where my family was.

There was a shout from ashore, and I saw a village man named Ashok on the docks, making his way out to sea for the day. "An Earth Kingdom ship!" He cried, alerting the others, and then he saw my eager face, beaming out at him. Ashok's face fell in complete shock, and he spun around to alert the small trickle of seafarers beginning to make their way out into the docks.

"It's Anahi!" He cried, and the crowd began to surge forward. "She's back!"

"Anahi!" I heard a deep-throated cry, and my heart lurched forwards in my chest. The second the boat was docked in the harbor, I leapt over the side, my feet landing with a thud onto the deck.

"Dad!" I cried, bursting forwards into a sprint. I cleared the docks in two strides and then I saw him. His black hair turning grey, his tanned skin lined and weathered from life on the seas, his grey eyes brimming with tears as he began to run towards me. My father.

I met him head on, throwing my arms around his neck and nearly knocking him backwards. "You're home," Nasuh breathed, pulling apart from me and taking my face in his hands. Tears brimmed in my father's eyes, and he beamed at me as if I contained the sun. "Anahi, I can't begin to explain how afraid Sukah and I were that we would never see you again."

"I'm so sorry," I said, bowing my head. "I never meant to cause you pain... I was just so scared that you would be hurt because of me - "

"Anahi," My father pressed his lips together, shaking his head. "We are so glad that you have come home. Let's move on."

I wrapped my arms around him tightly and squeezed, pressing my lips to his cheek before I let him go.

"Naheel!" Nasuh called, and I followed him over to the boat as he embraced his son. My father was able to bury his face in the shoulder of my taller brother, and I heard him murmur a humble thank you in my brother's skin.

After we had been reacquainted, it appeared that our three other companions had attracted quite a bit of attention. Kita, Kateri, and Etka stayed aboard the ship, watching what was going on below in reservation.

"Who have you brought with you?" Nasuh asked, as the crowd of fishermen seemed to dissect the trio with a fierce, untrusting gaze.

"These are our friends," Naheel said, extending an arm. He wore a smile, but I could see his nervousness. Then it hit me. The water tribe villagers might not welcome Kateri, Etka, and Kita into the village so easily. Especially Etka.

"This is Kateri, Etka, and Kita," Naheel introduced them, waving them down from the ship. "Kita is Anahi's biological mother."

Nasuh's face flooded in recognition, and he took a step towards my mother. "I never thought that we would see you again..." He breathed, and then shook his head. "I have to find Sukah right away. She needs to be here."

My father turned away, nodding at me before hurrying off to find his wife, and Kita slowly made her way onto the deck and beside me. Etka began to follow, but suddenly, Ashok stepped before him, planting a firm arm against his shoulder and stopping him in his tracks.

"Hang on now," Ashok frowned at Etka. "You don't look Earth Kingdom." He squinted, staring hard at Etka's face, and the latter drew back in alarm.

"I'm a friend," Etka said sternly, and Naheel stepped up.

"Etka and Kateri can be trusted. They helped us escape the Fire Nation - "

"Fire Nation!" Came a cry, and Ashok pushed Etka back with a stiff hand.

"The eyes!" He shouted, narrowing his own. "He's got golden eyes!"

"Ashok!" I cried, stepping forwards and placing myself between him and Etka. "Enough! Etka and Kateri will not hurt you."

"Are they firebenders?" Someone yelled out, and Ashok puffed out his chest, getting ready for a fight.

"Yes, but - " Naheel tried, but I cut him off.

"Look at me!" I cried, my eyes flaring in anger. "Do I not look like them? You had no problem with me before, Ashok."

It was a challenge, and Ashok looked surprised that I would dare. He was several years older than Naheel, and I had known him nearly my whole life. Ashok was taken aback by my comment, and I straightened up, lifting my chin.

"How can we trust them?" Ashok frowned, crossing his arms over his chest. "How can you expect us to blindly accept people from the Fire Nation?"

"Ashok is right." We all turned around and my heart leapt into my throat. Two of the village elders stood before us, their arms crossed in an identical manner. Shotek and Takoa were ancient twin brothers, and two of the most senior members of the council.

It was Takoa who had spoken. Unlike his twin, his silver hair hung past his shoulders, framing his his strong jaw and piercing eyes. "We know nothing about these strangers. All three of them."

"Kita is my birth mother," I blurted out, beginning to panic. They were going to kill Etka, I knew it. I stepped back, standing in front of him protectively. Shotek raised a hand, silencing me without words.

"Your companions will speak for themselves," He said sternly, and I felt my face burn.

"Anahi is telling the truth," Kita spoke up, her voice steady and strong. "I came to the Water Tribe eighteen years ago after being exiled from the Fire Nation. I was pregnant with Anahi, and I was so weak and sick I thought that I would die. Nasuh and Sukah found me and took me in, and even though they were expecting a child themselves, agreed to take Anahi after she was born and raise her as their own."

"What of her father?" Shotek asked, and I cast a fearful look over at Kita. Our eyes met, and she understood immediately.

"Anahi's father and I were of different social castes," Kita explained carefully. "Our families did not approve of the match, and did not approve of the pregnancy that resulted afterwards. I was unmarried and pregnant, and I had no where to go. Through the grace of Sukah and Nasuh, Anahi and I are still alive today."

"But you did not stay with them," Takoa added, prompting Kita on further.

"No," Kita said gently. "After I left the Water Tribe, I found refuge in the Democratic Alliance - a secret organization whose goal was to take down the Fire Nation's oppressive monarch, Firelord Ozai."

At the mention of Ozai's name, scowls and murmurs of hatred and disgust passed through the crowd. Kita had passed their test. My eyes found Etka's, and I saw the worry and fear that he felt as the attention shifted to Kateri. She would get away too, but by the look in Etka's eyes, he too knew that he was already damned.

Shotek and Takoa seemed to accept Kateri's story, as she told of her life as a Sister, and how the Fire Nation Army destroyed her home and all of the Sisters in it. Soon enough, the focus was passed to Etka, and I stepped beside him, my heart racing.

"My name is Song Etka," He explained slowly. "And...and I know that you won't like what I have to say, but please, hear me out - "

"Speak up, boy," Someone called out, and Etka flinched. I wanted to take his hand, but I feared the crowd would turn on us.

"My name is Song Etka," Etka spoke up louder, raising his chin. "And I was a Captain in the Fire Nation Navy."

The crowd erupted, and several men charged towards Etka. Etka raised his hands above his head, barely managing a weak protest before two men seized him by the front of his robes and threw him off the wooden docks and onto the harsh snow.

Kateri lunged forwards, firing a bolt of lightning at the ground just before Etka to drive off his attackers. Someone screamed, and I knew they would turn on her too.

"Stop!" I cried, forcibly pushing my way forwards and grabbing Kateri by the wrist. "This isn't the way!"

"She attacked us!" Came a shout, and I pushed Kateri unceremoniously behind me, shielding both her and Etka with my body.

"Kateri was defending him, and I will defend him too, if it comes to that," I said fiercely, my eyes passing over everyone in the crowd. My neighbors, my peers, those who I'd looked up to my whole life were beginning to surround us, drawn to the commotion near the docks. My heart was racing, and I didn't see my parents anywhere. This was not at all how I imagined my homecoming would be.

"You would defend one who has killed hundreds of our people!" Someone shouted, and I saw Ashok's fiery eyes blazing at me. He threw a blaming finger at me as he yelled. "You are a traitor, Anahi! Every man, woman, and child from the Fire Nation is exactly the same! Every one is a stone-hearted killer!"

His words hit me like a slap. I recoiled in shock and hurt, stepping back into Etka. He laid a hand on my shoulder and murmured my name gently. He was about to continue, when a harsh, commanding voice rang out above the crowd.

"My daughter was raised alongside you, Ashok!" Sukah shoved her way towards the center of the crowd. Her braid was coming loose and her grey eyes were full of anger and passion. The fire in her eyes was shocking and the command in her voice was unlike anything I had ever seen. "I will not allow you to host a witch hunt to satisfy your thirst for blood! This matter will be dealt with by the council. I will not allow my daughter to be held under trial by a mob."

I stared in awe at her, and in that moment, I had never been more proud and in awe of my mother. Right behind her was Nasuh, his face set in stone as well. Suddenly, I felt an overwhelming sense of safety. My mother was here. She wouldn't let anyone hurt us.

"She has Fire Nation blood!" Ashok snarled, turning on her, but my mother stood her ground. "You knew this and you still took her in!"

"You will stand down, Ashok!" Sukah thundered, moving imposingly in front of me. "You are not a council elder, unless a lot has changed in the past few minutes."

Her words sent a knife through Ashok, and he stepped back, struggling to retain a wounded pride. My gaze met my mother's, and she reached out, taking my hand. "Come, Anahi," She said firmly, her eyes locked on mine. There were a thousand things that I wanted to say to her, but I held her hand in stunned silence as we all walked to the Council building.


End file.
